The Edge
by SingleSilverFeather
Summary: Strange forces are rising as the Dark Hour begins to return, and it's a problem Narukami can't handle on his own. One alarming phone call later, and Yosuke heads to Tatsumi Port Island to help him figure it out before the Fall can come to pass. Along the way, the two of them will gain allies in surprising places, and find enemies where they least expect it.
1. The Email

_A few notes as a "little" foreword:_

_In Persona 4 stories, the main characer's name is often Souji Seta or Yu Narukami. For this story, it's Seta Narukami. And there is a reason for this, but to be honest, it's not at all important. The point is, WE KNOW, so there's no need to point it out to us._

_The beginning chapters of the story were written way back in April and thus, we'll have to discount anything that happens in Arena or Golden. As a continuation of sorts, this story will contain spoilers for the true endings of both Persona 3 and Persona 4._

_Much of this story runs on "I have an idea! Let's do it!" We've done our best to make it flow smoothly, but we apologize in advance if there are any minor inconsistencies. If you find any, feel free to let us know and we'll try to fix it._

_The story, in our opinion, seemed to be on the line between T and M. After debating over it for a while, we ended up placing it under T. If anyone thinks it's too low at all, feel free to let us know and we can bring it up again._

_A few edits had to be made in terms of format, but hopefully, it all works out okay._

___The first two chapters were originally just their e-mail messages and spoken dialogue, however we have had to rewrite them in order to fit FFnet's rules. __Also, should be obvious, but just in case: Their e-mails are NOT real._

___Phew...With all that said, we hope you enjoy!_

* * *

**To: Yosuke Hanamura _(magician94 (a)atlus .co .jp)_  
****From: Seta Narukami _(wildcardizanagi2011 (a)atlus .co .jp)_  
****Sent: Fri, July 27, 2012 at 3:46 PM  
****Subject: Hey**

_Hey. Sorry for the lapse in contact. It shouldn't happen again. I don't think it's been long, but the days run together after a while. I doubt I missed anything in Inaba, but I wanted to ask, just in case. Things have been a little weird over here._

_To answer your last question, I believe in that scenario, the train is so far off the rails that it crashed into a brick wall, through it, over a cliff, into a pit of spikes...no, a pit of reapers, that happen to fire spikes from their guns...sorry, speaking of trains, I lost my train of thought. It's improbable, is what I'm saying._

_Seta Narukami_

...

I stared at the keyboard uselessly. I was exhausted...I shook my head, laughing bitterly at my own choice of words. A little weird. Yosuke was going to catch on. I knew he would. Whether it was because he internally wanted adventure, or because he knew me so well, he pounced on anything vague I said.

My parents would be coming home later this evening.

I'd make dinner before they got back...I had about two hours...

Yosuke was probably at work right now...

I needed to lie down.

...

**To: Seta Narukami _(wildcardizanagi2011 (a)atlus .co .jp)_  
****From: Yosuke Hanamura _(magician94 (a)atlus .co .jp)_  
****Sent: Fri, July 27, 2012 at 4:28 PM  
****Subject: RE: Hey**

_No problem, good to hear from you again. You haven't missed much, it's been kinda normal around here. Aside from Kanji trying to ask Naoto out once-she still will not get a clue. What do you mean by 'weird' stuff happening over there?_

_...Dude, I think we've both lost the train at this point. I don't even know what you're talking about._

_-Yosuke_

...

I hit Send, finding myself grinning slightly. I'd missed his e-mails, to be honest; I'd just passed off his silence on him being busy with exams like the rest of us were, but _damn_, it really was good to hear from him again. I couldn't help but wonder what he meant by 'weird' though...what could be weird that was going on over there?

...And what were we really talking about last time? I seriously could not remember for the life of me.

"Hey, Hanamura!"

I sighed and clicked out of the browser before pocketing my phone and standing. "Coming!"

...

**To: Yosuke Hanamura _(magician94_**** (a)atlus .co** .jp)  
**From: Seta Narukami _(wildcardizanagi2011_**** (a)atlus .co** .jp)  
**Sent: Fri, July 27, 2012 at 5:08 PM  
****Subject: RE: Hey**

_...If he asked her out, and she still has no idea, we may as well give up now. It doesn't get more obvious than that. Seriously, Naoto? I seriously wonder if she's that clueless or...I don't even know._

_Weird...I'm not sure where to start. It's a bit hard to explain. Lots of fog around here. Weird hallucinations at midnight. I need to sleep more._

_If you can't find the e-mail, and you don't remember, it's probably not important. But the train's probably a wreck at this point, so I hope you didn't leave anything important on it. Then again, you probably don't need a train once you have a motorcycle...have you gotten your license yet?_

_-Seta_

...

Yeah. Fog. That was gonna tip him off. Hallucinations would, too...sleep had nothing to do with this. I was pretty sure at this point that I wanted him to know...But what could they do about it from Inaba? Check the TV world, I guess...

As for Naoto and Kanji, was this really as hopeless as it sounded? Some good news would be nice...

Damn train.

Probably should start making dinner now...

...

**To: Seta Narukami _(wildcardizanagi2011_**** (a)atlus .co** .jp)  
**From: Yosuke Hanamura _(magician94_**** (a)atlus .co** .jp)  
**Sent: Fri, July 27, 2012 at 8:40 PM  
****Subject: RE: Hey**

_Nah, I'd say there's still some hope left for them. He kinda ran off in the middle of asking her, yelling something about sewing class, so..._

_Lots of fog? You mean like a constant fog like the one that happened here last December? And what kind of hallucinations do you mean?_

_It couldn't have been that important if I forgot about it. Even if it was, I'm not going through a brick wall over a cliff into a pit of reapers firing spike guns to remember it. And yeah, I have my license, but still no motorcycle. It's kind of depressing._

_-Yosuke_

...

Oh man, if only we could get Kanji and Naoto together. I'd had to bug him for over a week to get him to even _start_ asking her...and then he'd botched it by running off anyway.

The instant he mentioned fog I found myself starting to worry. Was it really as bad as I was imagining it? I hoped not. I didn't want a repeat of seven months ago. And hallucinations? I hoped Seta wasn't actually imagining things either.

...Where the hell was the second half of this conversation going anyw-

There was a giant crash from downstairs, and I shot to my feet. _Goddammit_, Teddie, what the hell did you do this time?!

...

**To: Yosuke Hanamura _(magician94_**** (a)atlus .co** .jp)  
**From: Seta Narukami _(wildcardizanagi2011_**** (a)atlus .co** .jp)  
**Sent: Sat, July 28, 2012 at 1:21 AM  
****Subject: Fog/Hallucinations/Trains?**

_Sounds like Kanji to me. Maybe they just need encouragement? Yukiko could get them a room at the inn and force them to share it...think that'd work?_

_Yeah, fairly constant. It's not too thick, but thick enough to keep me constantly on edge. I've kept an ear out for anything worrying being said, but nothing so far. Even stuck my head through my own TV, but nothing seems to be off in the TV world, either...Teddie may have a better idea than me, so ask him._

_The hallucinations are a bit strange. Lots of coffins, the sky's green, and the moon seems way too big. No lasting harm done by them, though...maybe they're just dreams?_

_I'd only go through all that if Nanako was on that train. I'd make those Reapers sorry. _

_(You'll be able to afford one eventually, no worries.)_

_-Seta_

...

There would be nothing left of those Reapers. _Nothing._

The fog was thick enough that I was wearing my glasses outside. My parents hadn't noticed, but then, they didn't notice much.

Dreams? How long am I going to call them dreams? Who do I think I'm kidding? It just happened again an hour ago...

It was too late for this. I needed to sleep.

...

**To: Seta Narukami _(wildcardizanagi2011_**** (a)atlus .co** .jp)  
**From: Yosuke Hanamura _(magician94_**** (a)atlus .co** .jp)  
**Sent: Sat, July 28, 2012 at 11:25 AM  
****Subject: RE: Fog/Hallucinations/Trains?**

_Oh, man, why didn't I think of that before?! If only it weren't tourist season right now, Yukiko's been telling us how booked solid they are...Chie's been over to help them out quite a bit lately._

_Damn, you're lucky you didn't get sucked in again like you did the first time...that sounds kinda unsettling though. You don't think it could be Ameno-Sagiri trying to make a comeback, do you...?_

_Coffins? A green sky? And you're seeing it repeatedly? ...it wasn't something you ate, right? Please tell me your fridge isn't as bad as the one at the Dojimas'._

_Hah, you would! And you know we'd have your back every step of the way too. _

_(I hope so.)_

_-Yosuke_

...

That idiot...trying to stick his head through an unfamiliar TV like that? He was really lucky he hadn't fallen through, even if he had been careful about it.

Dreams? Yeah, right, nice try, Seta. I had no idea what was actually going on over there, but even I could tell he knew they weren't dreams.

Oh man, what I wouldn't give to have my own motorcycle...

"C'mon, Yosuke, or you're gonna end up walking!"

I sighed and shut my laptop. I'd have to settle for getting a ride from my dad for now.

...

**To: Yosuke Hanamura _(magician94_**** (a)atlus .co** .jp)  
**From: Seta Narukami _(wildcardizanagi2011_**** (a)atlus .co** .jp)  
**Sent: Sat, July 28, 2012 at 2:24 PM  
****Subject: RE: Fog/Hallucinations/Trains?  
****Attachments:** MyFridge,jpg

_Hm. See what you can do. Let me know how it goes. As soon as Kanji and Naoto start dating, I'll throw them a party or something._

_Um...it tried. Had a bruise on my shoulder for a bit thanks to that. Again, you should send Teddie or Rise in, just in case. I hope not, but if it comes to that, we should all go in and take it out once more. Prove that it shouldn't mess with humanity. With us._

_I've considered that it was something I ate. I have an ingredients drawer that I keep clean, but the rest of the fridge may as well be foreign matter. Here's a picture, if you're interested. _

_I know you would._

_-Seta_

...

And what a party it would be. There would a banner hanging on the wall that read 'EVERYONE COULD SEE IT BUT YOU, NAOTO'. Or maybe that'd be mean.

A bruise on my shoulder...a scorched arm...my parents must be blind...

At least taking a picture of my fridge had made me smirk. Yosuke was gonna flip.

...They would be with me. They always have been with me. So why, _why_ was I still hiding?

I'd get some fresh air, and then I'd begin telling him my concerns.

...

**To: Yosuke Hanamura _(magician94_**** (a)atlus .co** .jp)  
**From: Seta Narukami _(wildcardizanagi2011_**** (a)atlus .co** .jp)  
**Sent: Sat, July 28, 2012 at 2:45 PM  
****Subject: …**

_You know, I've been understating the situation to you guys. The severity of it. I guess I just don't want to worry you when there isn't much you can do._

_I met a blue-haired man in what was definitely a dream the other day. I haven't felt the same since._

_Something's going on. I get the feeling it's pretty big...but I have no idea what it is._

_Am I the only one seeing this?_

_-Seta_

...

Was I losing my mind?

...

**To: Seta Narukami _(wildcardizanagi2011_**** (a)atlus .co** .jp)  
**From: Yosuke Hanamura _(magician94_**** (a)atlus .co** .jp)  
**Sent: Sat, July 28, 2012 at 11:58 PM  
****Subject: RE: Fog/Hallucinations/Trains?**

_I'll give it a shot. It took a lot of nagging to get him to start asking her in the first place...and look where that ended up._

_Yeah, I'll ask Ted about it. I think Rise's still finishing up some business from her last tour, sent us an email a while back saying she was gonna come back and stay in Inaba for a few weeks. I'll ask her when she gets here, too. And damn right we'll set that thing straight. We're not gonna keep letting it mess with us._

_...Dude, please don't tell me you actually eat half of that stuff._

_-Yosuke_

...

Haha, a party for Kanji and Naoto. They'd either die of embarrassment or try to kill us.

I opened the image file, then jerked back and nearly fell out of my chair. Oh god, that could not seriously be his fridge. He could not seriously be eating that...stuff.

There was another e-mail in my inbox...I glanced at the clock. I guess I could reply to this one before I went to sleep.

...

**To: Seta Narukami _(wildcardizanagi2011_**** (a)atlus .co** .jp)  
**From: Yosuke Hanamura _(magician94_**** (a)atlus .co** .jp)  
**Sent: Sun, July 29, 2012 at 12:04 AM  
****Subject: RE: ...**

_...Just how much are you 'understating' things, Seta? I haven't seen or heard anything of a blue-haired man (naoto doesn't count), and I'm sure the others would've brought something up if they had._

_...Maybe I should come over and pay you a visit. I've been curious to know what your place looks like, anyways._

_-Yosuke_

...

How much was he not telling me?

...

**To: Yosuke Hanamura _(magician94_**** (a)atlus .co** .jp)  
**From: Seta Narukami _(wildcardizanagi2011_**** (a)atlus .co** .jp)  
**Sent: Sun, July 29, 2012 at 6:00 PM  
****Subject: [no subject]**

_True._

_Ask him._

_I have bigger things to worry about than my diet._

_I'm only just realizing how much I've underestimated things._

_Yosuke, please call me as soon as possible._

_I'm scared._

_-Seta_

...

I shut my eyes and picked up my cell phone. Braced myself. Walked down the hall. A reminder to myself that someone had to be told, or next time, it would be my blood on the walls, and my life on the line. And any person, any non-Persona user who had no idea, who came too close to me could be next.

Then again, what was stopping this from reaching Inaba?

I sat down on the sofa and waited.


	2. The Call

_Sunday, July 29, 2012, 6:05 PM_

* * *

"Hello?"  
_"Hey, man. What's this about calling you? What's going on?"_

...What did I say? Where did I start? I hung my head.

"It's...yesterday evening...I don't even know anymore..."  
_"What do you mean? What happened?"  
_"It's my parents..."  
_"Huh? What about them?"  
_"...I..."

Mom...Dad...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...

_"...You alright? What's going on, man?"_

I took a deep breath and stood. I was far too restless to keep on sitting. Even when pain shot through my leg, I ignored it. I refused to grab the crutches I'd been given, and I wasn't sure if my mind was just being a sadist, or if I thought I deserved it.

"My parents are both in the hospital."  
_"...What?! What happened?!"_

...

_I'd never heard noise during this time period before. Nobody in the house was supposed to be awake. I threw myself out of bed and ran for the door, trying to shake off my own disorientation._

_I quickly but carefully pulled the bedroom door open and glanced outside. To my left, my mother and father. To the right, massive golden beetles. There were three. They seemed to have come from my parents' room, perhaps their window, and were blocking the way of the exit. My parents were in the living room, my mother 'wielding' a hard-cover book while my father stood defensively in front of her, looking for a weapon to use._

_I'd never considered my parents in this mess. I'd never wanted to. I'd never even let myself. They were rarely even home, after all... But it was happening now, whether I wanted it to be or not._

...

"Yesterday, at midnight...or maybe it was after, I don't know, I just...Shadows broke through the window."  
_"What?!"_

I'd told a lot of lies over my e-mails...they wouldn't do now.

"Remember I mentioned those hallucinations, those dreams...? It was then."  
_"...So you hallucinated a Shadow breaking into your house? Or do you mean...you weren't hallucinating at all?"_

I wondered if he'd only made the connection just now, or if he'd worked it out sooner. Or maybe he'd just never believed it.

"It was never a hallucination. At least, I don't think it was. Hallucinations don't put people in the hospital...Then again, the Shadow didn't, either..."

And there it was. There was no hiding it anymore: I'd have to confess. I uselessly rubbed my eyes with my sleeve. My eyes were sore...not enough sleep, too many tears...Everything hurt...My leg was searing with pain, a dull ache radiated from my chest.

_"What do you mean? How'd your parents get in the hospital then?"_

...

_It felt like my mind all but burst open. I screamed and grabbed my head, my whole body shaking. In the distance, somewhere, I heard the sounds of something being torn apart, and when I managed to look up, I saw something standing in the place of Izanagi: A black and grey, coffin wearing creature I had never seen before._

_"What is that?!" my mother screamed._

_I had no answer for her: I had no idea. This hadn't happened before._

_The new beast threw its head back and let out a terrifying sound that seemed to shake everybody in the room. Behind my eyes, a dark purple light went off, sparked with red. There was a needle-like sensation beginning in the center of my head, accompanied by a strange pulling feeling. It was wrong. Something was wrong._

_A low voice whispered in my head: 'Thanatos...'_

...

...I'm sorry...

"I...I summoned my Persona...but it was a Persona I'd never seen before, and...it tore the Shadows apart with no problem, but...it lost it. I couldn't control it at all...I put them in the hospital..."  
_"You summoned a new Persona? But...how'd you lose control of it? I thought our Personas were supposed to be a part of ourselves."  
_"It wasn't mine. It wasn't my Persona."

I just knew. And while I had some theories, none of them were going to fix this.

Damnit..._damnit!_

" ...My chest hurts..."

It was meant to just be an offhand statement, but it came out so quiet, so strangled, that I could tell something was wrong...Yosuke missed it completely.

_"...How could you summon a Persona that isn't your own?"_

My breath began to catch in my throat. My mind began to haze over. My knees were weak, and I stopped pacing. Was it grief? Or was it...? I tried to keep it together, but when I spoke, my voice was shaking and breathless.

"I...don't...I don't kn-..."

Nausea crashed over me. My chest began to feel tight and constricted. My throat felt obstructed.

"Ngh..."  
_"Hey, you okay, Seta?"_

I grabbed the wall, struggled not to fall apart. I could hardly feel anything...not the wall, not the floor...It was like I was floating...

"I...I can't...breathe..."  
_"Hey, Seta! Keep it together, man!"_

My eyes fell shut. I saw something, despite that...

"Tired...I'm really tired..."  
_"Ohh, no you don't, don't pass out on me, dude...!"_

...

"I..."

I felt myself hit the floor. The phone just barely stayed in my hand.

_"Seta? SETA!"_

Why...can't I breathe?

"I...Am I...?"

Letting go? I couldn't just...and yet...something was pulling me away...

_"C'mon, Seta...I'm still here, just keep breathing..."_

I'm not letting go..._he_ is...is this it...? I don't...want to...

"Ngh...Yo...suke..."

...he can't help me...  
that was always the problem.

_"Seta...? SETA!"_

everything starts falling ap art aroun dme  
and it feelsm o stl y ok  
exc ep t for my m ind  
s c re am ing  
for  
m y  
life...

i  
d o n t  
wa n t to  
g o...

_"LET GO OF HIM!"_

P a in  
spi k e sthr o u gh  
my che s t  
ast he wo rld  
sl owly but c e rtain ly  
begins to pu ll i t self back  
together again...

Only when I managed a slight inhale of breath did I realize that I'd stopped breathing completely.

_"Seta?"_

I opened my mouth, but for a while, my brain, my voice, my words completely failed me.

"...I...I..."

I pressed my arms against the floor, but they were so weak...I managed to drag myself to my knees.

"...A-Are you still there...?"

And suddenly, I needed to hear his voice, or I was going to scream, just to fill the silence.

_"Yeah...yeah, I'm here. You okay, man...?"_

He sounded horrified. It made sense. I rested my hand against my neck, but I didn't have to. My heartrate was definitely too slow...or too fast...just abnormal. And as my mind began to feel less thick, I started to panic.

I'd been told that if things went wrong, I'd...I'd...but...

Useless. How could I be so useless? I couldn't even save myself...

"...I...I think I just...oh, man..."  
_"...Just...breathe for a minute or something..."_

Breathing only served to hammer the point home: If he gave up, I'd have no choice, and I'd...I'd just...

"I...I just...died..."

If he gave up, I'd drop dead...and there'd be nothing I could do...

_"...You really scared me for a minute there, man...are you okay...?"_

When I opened my mouth to speak, I found that I couldn't...and I just...sobbed. It was all too much. Today. Everything that had already happened. I was a mess. How could I have let this fall so far out of my hands...?

_"...J-just...take deep breaths or something, okay...? Rest for a minute..."  
_"...M...Mmhmm..."

I considered putting the phone down, or stepping away from it, but I didn't want to scare him again. And I had, I definitely had. He only sounded slightly better than I did. I was crying, and as much as he probably hated to hear me cry, at least I was _there_. And while I wasn't paying too much attention, I could hear his breath shaking as the impact of what had happened hit him.

When both of us had finally settled, at least a little, as much as a person could after something so sudden, I mustered up whatever was left of my energy and asked.

"...What was it you said about coming to my place in the e-mail...?"  
_"...Dude, I'm packing for it right now. E-mail me your address or something, I'll be there in two days."  
_"Okay. I don't think I want to be home alone..."

The silence, which was already awful, felt so much worse...

"...But don't mention this to Chie, alright? I know it's her birthday tomorrow...make sure to wish her one for me."  
_"I don't know how you can even _think _about that after what just happened..."_

Me neither...

_"But yeah...I won't...I mean, I will, I just-...just hang tight for a while. I'll be on the next train over."  
_"Then I'll see you soon."

There was so much more I needed to say...but none of it could be said now...Not enough, anyway...

"I...um...thanks. And...I owe you some explanations. I'm sorry."  
_"No problem. Don't apologize, man. I'll see you soon."_

There was a click as I shut the phone. I couldn't stand to see the bloodstained hallways now...I would have to get used to it tomorrow...Maybe I could clean it...but it probably wouldn't come off anyway...I pulled my knees in close, shut my eyes. Rested on the floor where I was.

I didn't sleep.


	3. The Voice

_Tuesday, July 31, 2012, 2:49 PM_

* * *

I rested my head against the back of the seat, staring out the window at the scenery flashing by. I had my headphones up over my ears to block out the noise that was drifting towards me from the other end of the car. This was my first time leaving Inaba since I'd moved here nearly two years ago...I couldn't help but admit to being a little bit excited.

My mind drifted back to the conversation I'd had with Seta the other night. I still didn't really know what happened during that call...He'd said that he had died...but from what? And how? I had no idea...

I jerked my head up, suddenly realizing that I had been starting to drift off. "Damnit," I muttered under my breath. I hadn't gotten much sleep since then, mostly out of worry for Seta (though I'd also had the honor of pulling an all-nighter with everyone else for Chie's birthday yesterday). Trying to shake off the feeling, I pulled out my phone/MP3 player and pulled up my battle playlist. Chie and Naoto berated me almost constantly for wearing my headphones in battle, but I didn't really care. In all honesty, having a rhythm kinda helped me sometimes. I set it on shuffle and let out a sigh, closing my eyes.

_"...out there?"_

"Out where?" I muttered, not bothering to open my eyes. I wasn't in the mood to talk to whatever random stranger might've just sat down across from me.

_"Is anybody out there?"_

"I'm right here," I growled, opening one eye. I blinked in confusion; there was no one else there.

_"I need you guys now...please...!"_

"Huh...?" I sat up in confusion, glancing around me. There was no one near me, aside from that rowdy group at the other end of the car...so where was that voice coming from?

_"Hour...the Dark Hour...I can't let you down, now...I need your help..."_

"...What are you talking about...?" I whispered, casting a quick glance around to make sure no one was going to catch me talking to myself.

_"I'm not going to hold out much longer on my own..."_

"Hold out...?" I muttered, tensing. "Hold out from what...?"

_"If I fail, what remains...? Who's left? How much time will we have left? How much longer can he hold out after me...? If he dies, it's all my fault...I thought I was strong enough..."_

"..." Almost instantly I thought of Seta again. Is this what he had been talking about, when he said he was hallucinating? But then why was it happening to me too? And what was with these chilling thoughts...?

"What are you talking about?" I repeated quietly. "What do you mean, 'can he hold out'...?"

_"Please! Can you guys hear me?!"_

"I'm here, I can hear you," I said a little louder this time, not caring anymore if the group at the other end of the car caught me talking to myself. (Honestly, I'd be surprised if they did, with the amount of noise they were making...) "What do you need? How can I help?"

_"...Answer me...please..."_

"I'm here!" I repeated even louder; one of the guys from the far group glanced in my direction, and I shut my eyes so I wouldn't have to deal with their weird looks. "What is it?!"

_"Please..."_

"I'm right here! What is it?!"

This time, I got no response. I waited several minutes with my eyes squeezed shut, trying to catch that voice again, but nothing came to me. I sighed, slumping back against the seat. What...what really was that, that had happened just now...? I went back to staring out the window, mulling it over in my thoughts.


	4. The Collapse

_Tuesday, July 31, 2012, 6:01 PM_

* * *

I waited at the station, watching for the train through the fog. There was a quiet murmur echoing around the place, but nothing more. I was glad Yosuke was arriving later in the day, if only so it wasn't as noisy here. Then again, if he'd arrived earlier, I could've worried less about dropping dead on the spot. The fear had been on my mind since it'd actually happened. My parents hadn't shown any signs of waking up, according to the doctors, so it seemed that I'd be without them for a while. My face fell, and I stared at my feet.

How could I have let that happen...?

I closed my eyes and listened for Minato's voice. Every now and again, I heard it. Every now and again, I think he heard me, too. When he got desperate, or when I got scared...when either of us got lonely. We both got lonelier than either of us would admit. I heard nothing at that moment, however.

The train pulled into the station not too long afterwards. I stood up. Despite my anxiety and my guilt, I felt slightly excited, too. I hadn't seen Yosuke for quite a while, and I wasn't ashamed to admit to myself that I missed the shit out of him. I wondered, with amusement, if he'd get mad at me if I hugged him at the train station. Probably. Somehow, I laughed, earning myself a weird look from someone walking by.

I watched the people exit, and I scanned the new crowd for his face. It didn't take me long to find him. Listening to his headphones, as always. In fact, I wondered if I could sneak up on him. Couldn't be too hard in the fog, right? I considered it for a moment.

In the end, I decided that if he got mad at me for hugging him in the station, he'd get over it eventually. I tackled him so hard I nearly knocked him over. He let out a startled yelp and stumbled backwards a few steps, only saved by the fact we both crashed into a support beam. "Hey-!" But I think I may've been laughing too hard for him to stay mad at me for long. He managed to wrench an arm free and pull his headphones down, grinning despite himself. "Geez, man, what're you trying to do, kill me?" he joked. I wished he wouldn't make comments about death, but I pushed it aside as to not make this depressing.

"Of course not. You haven't given me a reason to kill you yet." I stared at him with a completely straight face for a moment before I burst out laughing. "It's good to see you again."

The brief look of horror on his face was priceless before he managed to wipe it off. "It's good to see you too," he said, surprisingly returning the hug, albeit briefly. His gaze flickered down to my hand, and a look of worry crept into his expression. "You doing alright, man?"

I'd forgotten about my hand, and I let it drop to my side, staring at my fingers. My entire arm was the same: charred and blackened from what I could only assume was a Shadow attack. It had lasted a minute before the 'hallucination' had vanished, but the damage remained.

"Define alright, I suppose." I shrugged. "I've been better, but it could be worse." I wondered if I should mention the wound Thanatos had inflicted. He'd probably catch the limp...

He stared at me for a moment before he shook his head. "Whatever. Let's talk about it later, this isn't really the place for it. Besides, I wanna see your place," he added with a grin that almost seemed kinda forced. Again, I wished he wouldn't. I tried to smile back at him in return, anyway, thinking of what I could say to lighten the mood.

"...Yeah. As you know, there's some great stuff in my fridge."

Immediately his face started to pale. "Oh god, please don't make me eat any of that stuff," he whispered, looking downright terrified. I tried not to snort with laughter. So offering to feed him scared him more than threatening to kill him. I'd have to keep that in mind.

"I know how to cook. You'll be fine."

I started in the direction of my house, trying to walk normally. It was hard, perhaps impossible, to ignore the pain that shot through my leg with every step, and I eventually stopped trying to pretend it didn't exist. He noticed, but neither of us said anything about the limp. He could ask later, if he was interested.

"...You really weren't kidding when you said it was foggy here," Yosuke said finally. He had been glancing around as we walked down the street, half squinting to try to see through it. I nodded, trying to remember when the fog had begun to set in. It had been rainy the night before...but that wasn't unusual. So what had been different? Had anything been different?

"It started about a month ago." As far as I recalled, anyway. "I remember someone unfamiliar being on the Midnight Channel." Except now, that wasn't true. I was pretty certain that the silhouette had been Minato, but who knew why...if he died a few years ago, there would be no reason for him to be on anyone's mind...and that's what the Midnight Channel showed, right...? I tried to find a way to make words out of my thoughts, and when I failed, I simply said, "It's all gone downhill since then. And everything's been alright in Inaba...?"

"Yeah...things have been about as normal as they can get since you left."

Why...? I'd been under the impression that everything we'd experienced had been restricted to the Inaba region, but maybe that had been narrowminded of me.

"At least everyone there gets a break." I thought of Dojima as I said it. Then again, Dojima's sister, my mother, was hospitalized, so maybe he wasn't catching a break after all...I masked a frustrated sigh with a yawn. "Did you have a safe trip here?"

I caught him trying to stifle his own yawn. "Yeah, it was mostly uneventful..." A certain look crossed his face, one that told me he wasn't really saying everything, and I glanced at him.

"Mostly?" I prompted.

"..." He hesitated a moment before continuing. "There was...I don't know, I'm not entirely sure it even happened..."

"Sounds like the story of my life right now. I wouldn't write it off if I were you. What happened?"

"Well...I was about halfway here when I started hearing voices. One voice, really. He was...he sounded like he was calling for help..."

"..." I thought for a moment. "Minato's voice, maybe." His voice was the only one I could think of. "I hear him quite frequently, but I'm not sure-"

I was cut short when pain jolted through my body, and I stumbled forward, dropping to my knees and grabbing my chest. That's where the ache was coming from.

Not again..._not again...!_

"Hey!" Yosuke shouted, the same note of panic in his voice that I'd heard just the other night. He dropped his bag and crouched down beside me, one hand gripping my shoulder.

I closed my eyes, but instead of darkness, I saw a massive beast with red eyes, large horns...a permanent smile etched into its face, one of its two heads looking directly at me...I could hear whispering...and inside my head, I heard Minato scream in agony. His cry caused an explosion to go off behind my eyes, as if a knife had just been plunged into my skull.

I slumped forward, struggling for breath. I could hardly feel the air entering my lungs.

The pain in my chest amplified until it was almost unbearable, and in the real world, I could feel my body begin to go numb. It was like I was in two worlds at once...except in one world, I was fading, and the other, I was falling.

"Shi-! -...eta-!"

The red eyed monster wrapped a massive hand around a statue I could see before me. It wasn't anywhere near me, and yet, I felt like I was being pinned down.

A second hand reached out of the void and swung straight at the statue as the first hand drew back. Darkness emanated from the new attacker's palm. Minato cried out, and somehow, I could feel that something was wrong with him, too. I couldn't say what his life (or more accurately, afterlife) had been like up until now, but something about these recent assaults were not what he was used to, and we were both suffering for that.

The me that wasn't in the real world began to feel ill. Lethargic. The first attacker joined back in, lashing out, shoving against the statue.

_'I don't know how much longer I can do this...'_

I could hear my heartbeat slowing down, and the next time I exhaled, my body refused to inhale again. I could hear Yosuke in the distance, speaking, or maybe yelling, but the words themselves weren't reaching me.

_'Other than my life. How much depends on you?'_ It was nothing more than a thought, but that didn't matter.

_'Everything,' _is the answer I got. _'...I should have never dragged you into this...'_

The area around us began to heat up, but it wasn't aimed at me. I could see the attackers flinching, drawing away slightly.

_'This is my battle...! I will not back down!'_

The horned, red eyed beast began to throw around whatever it could reach, and the disembodied hand started to release a grey mist through the area. It burnt the skin, caused my disembodied self to writhe as I struggled to escape the force pinning me down. My heart lurched, and may have literally skipped a few beats. I could feel it inconsistently starting and stopping as Minato fought back with what strength he had left. I could practically see his vulnerable physical form standing in front of the statue of himself. The age difference between us probably wasn't much, but I couldn't help noticing that he looked much, much older than me. Looked older than anyone his age should look.

_'Why...am I not strong enough...'_

I could feel his pain once more. I could also feel his presence slipping. As it did, I could feel mine taking its place.

If Minato couldn't handle his position here, I didn't stand a chance.

_'Then borrow my strength. Or we both die.'_

Sparks danced within the flames as he took me up on my offer. The moment passed in a blur. An explosion of heat and electricity. The next thing I knew, I was staring up at the sunset, or at least what I could see of it through the fog. I could feel Yosuke's hand trembling on my shoulder. I tried to sit up, but I couldn't move. My limbs had gone weak, and refused to do much more than twitch. Despite the fire I'd just been in the center of, I was absolutely freezing. I wondered if my heart had stopped completely, and if so, for how long. How long can a person live without a heartbeat, anyway?

The past few days were far from the first attacks. I'd been having minor versions of the same thing for a while. Not once had they ever had a physical impact on me...

I wasn't sure whose luck was running out. Mine or his.

I opened my mouth to say something to Yosuke. To assure him. To tell him that I was alright. However, all that came out was a quiet sigh, or it might've been a groan. I was still sore, and more than a little tired. His hand tightened on my shoulder. "You alright, man...?" he whispered, his voice shaking slightly.

I took a long, uneven breath, just glad that I could, and gave a slight nod. "Yeah...I'll be alright...just give me a minute." I couldn't say how long I just lied there on the ground. Long enough to get weird looks from people who walked by, that's for sure. I just couldn't find the energy... Someone who came by did ask if they should call an ambulance, but I said no. This was way out of any doctor's hands, I was positive.

Of course, Yosuke didn't know where to find my house, and my parents couldn't pick us up, so eventually, I dragged myself off the ground. I gave him an apologetic look and offered to take one of his bags, to a pretty solid 'hell no'. It was too late to pretend that I was okay. Way, way too late. I'd been doing that for a month, after all, and for what?

Minato couldn't keep fighting his battle alone. And, as it was turning out, I would die if I kept trying.

The difference, for now, was that I could ask for assistance.

But what could they do...? Somehow, that was the bigger question.

As we resumed the trip back home, it started to rain. I had already been freezing...I lowered my head, grated my teeth together, and wrapped my arms around myself. I hadn't been paying attention to the weather...had it been chilly at the station? Or for now, was it just me? For summer, it had been pretty damn cold. I wondered if the fog had something to do with it...

I noticed that Yosuke wasn't wearing a jacket. It had to be warmer in Inaba than it was here now...I was wearing long sleeves, so theoretically speaking, I would be better off. I pulled my jacket off and threw it at him, because if I simply gave it to him, he wouldn't accept it. I faced away from him and hoped I wasn't trembling visibly. I instead focused on simply putting one foot in front of the other.

Minato told me that the green sky, the red water...that time was called the Dark Hour.

Would it strike again tonight? Would Yosuke see it, too? Or would he become a coffin, like my parents did? Like everyone else?

I guess I'd just have to wait and see.


	5. The Storm

_Tuesday, July 31, 2012, 6:15 PM_

* * *

I glanced upward as the rain began to fall harder. _Great...just what we need,_ I thought. First Seta collapsed in the middle of the street, and now it looked like a thunderstorm was rolling in...I could see him shivering too, despite his efforts to hide it. I sighed quietly and fell into step next to him, trying to pull the jacket over both of us. "C'mon, let's get out of this weather." He nodded slightly in return and stumbled sideways a few steps before leaning against my shoulder for support. I let him, privately glad that the street was deserted at this point due to the rain.

He quietly led me to a small apartment complex on the outskirts of the city and stopped at the door. There was a key panel by the entrance, and he rested his fingers against the numbers. I waited for him to do something, but he paused, and his face fell. He muttered something under his breath.

"...You don't remember the code?" I asked slowly.

He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, thinking, and finally shook his head. "I can't concentrate." He waited for another moment or two, waiting for it to come back, but it didn't seem to be. Slowly, he pulled away from the keypad and slammed his fist into the door. A moment later, an older woman came and pushed it open. She looked at us, seeming a bit sad.

"You two are soaked," she murmured.

"Yeah." Seta seemed unamused. She frowned as she caught his tone, and he immediately seemed to regret it. "Sorry. Rough day."

"I see...Is this your friend? I haven't seen him here before." Did these two know each other...? Seta gave a nod and gestured to me, but didn't speak, probably indicating that I should introduce myself.

"...I'm Yosuke Hanamura. I'm one of Seta's friends, from Inaba when he liv-" I was cut off by a sudden sneeze, and I let out a low groan of annoyance to myself.

"You two should get some rest, so you don't catch a cold," the woman said gently.

"He'll be fine. Chie's probably just talking about him." Seta was smirking slightly, despite himself.

"That or Ted's complaining again about me forcing him to stay behind," I sighed.

The woman didn't seem to follow, but smiled anyway. "Well, you two should head up...but I must ask...are you alright, Narukami? You're awfully pale..."

He shrugged. "Freezing. That's all. You have a good evening."

"Yeah. You too."

He started for the elevator at the other side of the room, and I followed him. Before I could ask who that was, he said, "Her name's Midori Kimura. She's one of the caretakers here, I think. I don't know her very well. But everybody here knows me..."

"Ah," was pretty much my only response to that. I didn't ask how everyone knew him. I could tell that he didn't want to talk about it.

His apartment seemed to be on the fourth floor, and at least he remembered his keys, so we didn't have any trouble getting into the room. "Bet you were worried it was another number pad, huh?" he muttered as he pushed the door open.

"Maybe?" I said, smirking slightly as I followed him inside.

It was a rather modest place, if that was the right word. There was a long hallway that branched off to the kitchen on the right, and two bedrooms on the left. Straight ahead, the hall led out to a living room that had two couches and a TV. (There was also a PSP on the table. I had a feeling I'd be borrowing that later.) And that was basically it... I couldn't help but notice that the walls on either side of me were stained a faded red. Was this where...? I didn't say anything to him about it, though. No sense bringing up painful memories again...

I set my bag down by the entrance with a sigh. "Damn, I hope nothing got ruined in there..." I muttered, glancing down at the soaking bag.

"I wouldn't know." He headed into his room and came back with a towel, which he threw into my hands before collapsing onto the couch.

"Thanks," I said, using the towel to try to at least get my hair dry so I wouldn't catch a cold. I went over to the couch and sat down next to him. "...You feeling okay, man?"

"...I'm just a bit lethargic. It'll pass, so don't worry."

I glanced at him disbelievingly. "It's a bit too late to be trying to tell me to not worry," I said flatly. "You lost control of a Persona, your arm's charred black and you've been limping heavily, you nearly died over the phone, not to mention collapsing again today...There's no way I'm gonna not worry about you." After a moment I winced slightly. I hadn't meant to make that sound so harsh.

He was quiet for a moment before he gave a rather heavy sigh. "I'm sorry. I don't know when I lost control over the situation..."

After a few moments I let out a sigh of my own. "Instead of worrying about that, you should let me help you out with it...tell me more about what's been going on here. Since the fog started setting in."

He was lost in thought for a minute. "I guess that's the problem. I don't really know what's going on, but I can give it a shot. Where exactly should I start...?"

I thought for a moment. "...Let's start with Minato, I guess. You mentioned him a couple times now, but...who is he? How do you know him?"

"Minato...He's connected to that hallucination time...the Dark Hour, more specifically. That's what he called it. I think it was last month, but I heard him calling for help around the same time the fog set in, maybe even slightly before. After hearing it a few days in a row...I guess I answered. We've been occasionally appearing to each other ever since. I don't exactly know who he is, but I've done some research and looked up some files...as far as I know, he was a student at the school I'm currently attending, Gekkoukan, about two or three years ago. He died very suddenly the day after graduation." He paused, as if wondering how much more to add. "...He's in a very bad spot. And it's looking like if he can't hold out, I'll be his successor. Whether I want to be or not."

"...What do you mean you've talked to him? How can you if he's...dead?"

He gave a slight shrug. "I don't know. He's definitely dead, though. But he appears during the Dark Hour sometimes...frequently in my room. Told me he was imitating someone named Pharos? I can't tell you who that is, I have no idea, but at least he acknowledges that waking up to find a stranger in your bedroom is a bit creepy." ...I really felt that there was something to be added there... "I talk to him then. It's not long. Even if he calls it the Dark Hour, I've never seen it last over twenty minutes. I think that's because of him, somehow. They appeared at around the same time."

"Because of him? What, you mean like Minato-san and this Dark Hour are connected somehow?"

"Yeah. I'm not sure how. I've been wondering if I should try and reach someone who knew him, but they might have no idea what I'm talking about." He let out a pained laugh. "Face it, what if I'm just losing my mind? It's about time." I think he meant it to be a joke, but I couldn't be sure.

"If you're losing your mind, then so am I," I stated. "Didn't I say that I started hearing him too, on the train ride over?"

"Yeah. And you don't collapse twice because of something your mind made up..." Another pause. "I've been having chest pains for a while now, ever since he collapsed and I grabbed his shoulder...I don't think I was meant to touch him."

"...Maybe that's what went wrong then?"

"...Went wrong...?"

"I mean...You said you weren't meant to touch him. Maybe making contact with him...I dunno, made you ill or something?" I hesitated, then decided to just throw the thought out there. "That Persona you summoned...you don't think it might've been part of him?"

"..." He pondered that for a moment, then something seemed to cross his mind. "...He's dead...and whatever I keep seeing when I pass out...his physical form...maybe it's his soul? Or am I just being weird?"

"Dude, I think we'd probably better consider everything at this point," I said. "Everything that's happened so far has just been too...out there. Even for us."

"Even for us." Seta managed to laugh a little. "...If I'm going to continue that thought...when I blacked out on the phone, and in the street...even a few times before then...I'm always standing in the same spot...I'm staring at this statue of him, and it's being attacked by two...they're not Shadows...I don't know what they are. They're monsters. Both of them. And he seems to be holding them off on his own...but they're overpowering him, and he starts fading...and when he starts fading, I start to feel myself in his place. And I feel myself start to die in the real world. I wonder..."

"...You're taking his place?" I whispered quietly, trying to choke back the worry that was nagging me.

He nodded slowly. "If it was his soul I made contact with, I'm wondering if that caused it. I wasn't blacking out and I wasn't in pain until that happened...maybe..." He sighed, and for a moment, seemed almost embarrassed. "I wonder if it fused our souls together somehow. We're both of the Fool Arcana, after all...I'm not sure if that means anything, though..." He shook his head. "This is ridiculous..."

For a moment I wasn't sure I believed him, but then I realized I'd be a hypocrite if I went back on what I'd said now. "Well, we should at least consider it," I sighed. "We don't really have much else to go on, anyway..."

"...At this point, I don't really want supernatural speculation, I want answers. What would Naoto-kun say to this if she were here, anyway?"

"...Probably say we're morons and missing something completely obvious."

"Well, I'm the only one who can see it, so she wouldn't really be able to get mad at you, anyway..." He sounded amused, but his face said something entirely different. "...There's got to be a way to work this out before something happens..." He was hesitating, but he finally choked out, "I don't want to die. I'm scared."

"You're not gonna die, Seta," I said forcefully. "I'm not gonna let you. We'll figure this out somehow."

"What if we can't figure it out in time?!" he snapped. His eyes were shut, and it was hard to tell whether he was furious or about to burst into tears. Maybe both...? "We only have until Minato can't hold on any longer, and what happens then?! He's fighting off two demons that are damn near beyond my comprehension, and if he can't take them, I sure as hell don't stand a chance! I could only have an hour left to live, for all I know! And where are we in terms of figuring it out?! We're in over our heads!"

"HEY!" I shouted at him. "Calm down, will you?! You are not going to die! Minato-san's been holding out so far, hasn't he? Give the guy some credit, I'm sure he'll be able to hang in there until we figure all this out!"

"I hope he can, because otherwise, I think the entire world might be screwed!"

"He will," I growled, trying to not let that statement get to me. "He will. We'll be fine."

He glared at me for a moment or two longer before burying his face in the couch. "...This is just too much." His voice was slightly muffled. "...I know it wouldn't change anything...but I wish my parents were here..."

Before I could say anything in response, there was a loud crack of thunder outside. The lights flickered, then suddenly died, plunging the entire apartment into darkness.

"F***."

Despite myself, I had to stifle a giggle. "...Let's just get some rest now," I sighed. "We could use a break from thinking about all this."

He dragged himself off the couch and into his room, coming back a few moments later with a stack of blankets. He threw them onto the couch and went back in, coming back out the second time with a large lamp. He flicked it on and placed it down by the table before disappearing into the kitchen.

In the meantime, I got to my feet and went over to my bag, unzipping it to check just how much damage the rain might've done. Fortunately, the jacket that I'd thrown in on top seemed to have protected most of what was underneath, though at this point it was sopping wet. I sighed, trying to wring some of the water out of it.

Maybe ten or fifteen minutes later, Seta came out holding a kettle, which he placed on the lamp. He grabbed two mugs, placed them on the desk, and grabbed one of the blankets, sitting down on the ground and wrapping it around himself. I grabbed a blanket myself and sat down on the couch again, tossing my jacket off to the side for now. I spotted the PSP still sitting on the table, and with a grin I grabbed it. "So what games have you got on this?"

"Nothing embarrassing, if that's what you're hoping for." He managed a tired smirk. "Play whatever you want. I haven't been using it lately."

"Don't mind if I do," I said, lying down on the couch and booting it up. Despite my best efforts to stay awake in order to keep playing, the lack of sleep I'd had these past several days was finally beginning to catch up with me. My eyes kept falling closed whether I wanted them to or not...I hadn't realized how cold I'd been until I'd wrapped myself up in a blanket and had some of the tea Seta made (which was pretty damn good, thankfully)...The last thing I remembered was a slight tug on the PSP as Seta pulled it out of my hands, and then I was out.


	6. The Dark Hour

_Tuesday, July 31, 2012, 11:49 PM_

* * *

_'What is it that you're fighting?'_

I stood in the center of...well, nothing, and I was facing Minato, who had his hands in his pockets and headphones over his ears. I didn't know where he'd gotten them or why they were there. Wasn't he dead? What was he doing with headphones? He didn't seem as confused as I did...I decided that I'd have to ask him when I had less pressing matters to deal with.

_'The red eyed beast is Erebus. It is the physical form of humanity's negativity and wishes for death.'_

_'And the other?'_

_'...I don't know. I don't think it stems from humanity. It seems to serve something else entirely.' _His headphones vanished as he thought harder, and he absently noticed the look on my face. He tapped his now uncovered ears. _'They're not there, but they were basically a part of me when I lived, so if I focus hard enough, it's like they were never gone. I have to stay sane somehow.' _I didn't feel the need to question him. If his mind made it real, so be it. _'I don't know what it's called, the second beast. It's not like I can ask where it came from or what it wants.'_

_'...What happens if you fail?'_

_'You take my place. That seems to be the case, anyway.'_

_'Why?'_

_'I don't know. I guess you're just unlucky.' _What kind of answer was that? _'...Don't glare at me like that. This is all new to me.'_

I closed my eyes. _'And then say I fail. Then what?'_

_'...'_ He stepped forward and put a hand on my shoulder. A jolt ran through my arm. _'The world ends. Have you heard of the Fall?'_

...January 2010. There'd been a massive craze about the end of the world, a goddess/Mother figure named Nyx, and religious talk about being made anew. At the time, I'd simply called it bullshit, and when nothing had happened, and January had turned into February, it had all died away. I'd thought that was that.

_'Wasn't that the doomsday prophecy tied into the Apathy Syndrome epidemic a few years back...?'_

_'Yes.'_

...I struggled to wrap my head around it all for a moment. I would've thought after taking down a goddess inside a TV, nothing would be beyond my comprehension, but...

He gave my arm a squeeze._ 'It's not inevitable. You have that advantage over my team.'_ His voice was calm. It always seemed to be calm to some degree.

A thought struck me. His team...? I wanted to ask him who they were, but I didn't want to bring up any painful memories...for him, or even for them. They must've missed him.

_'Then what can I do?'_ I asked, trying not to sound desperate. _'There has to be something.'_

_'I never expected to wake up like this again. I don't know how to resolve it. Not yet.'_ He released my shoulder and sighed. _'There is something.'_ He held up his hand, and an orange-red aura appeared around it. Moments later, I felt a slight tug inside my body somewhere, and sparks began to appear within the aura, as well. _'You said earlier that I could borrow your strength. I might need to keep doing just that.'_

_'If that's what it takes.'_

He nodded. _'I'm sure there are answers to be found. You should keep searching...where was it you said? Inside the TV?'_

I gave a nod.

_'...Inside the TV.'_ He rolled his eyes. _'That is so weird.'_

I stared at him in disbelief. _'You can't be serious.'_

_'I am. A world inside the TV? I find that hard to believe.' _But he was smiling, something I didn't see very often._ 'I'm sure there are clues to be found during the Dark Hour, as well...I've been trying to reach my friends, but I can't seem to...'_

_'You reached Yosuke earlier today. I know you probably didn't mean to, and I don't know how you did, but you're being heard. It's a start.'_

_'I guess. Maybe when the moon grows full...' _If the phase of the moon was important, I'd have to keep an eye on the lunar calendar from now on...I had no idea where it was at.

_'...The Dark Hour is approaching._' He turned away from me. _'I've got a battle to keep fighting.'_

_'Do your best from here. I'll do what I can.'_

_'Good luck.'_

When I woke up, I was still lying in front of the TV, back against the couch. The PSP was sitting on the table, right beside the mug I'd been drinking tea from, and it took me a moment to realize I was using Yosuke's arm as a pillow. I was suddenly glad I'd woken up first. I think he would've been a bit irritated (or maybe embarrassed?) if he'd noticed.

I looked up at the clock. 11:55. Almost midnight. I glanced back at Yosuke. Out like a light. I was still absolutely and utterly exhausted, but 'doing what I can' did not involve sleeping through the only hints we had.

I wondered if I should wake up Yosuke...I wondered if I'd be able to. Or would he be a coffin, like everyone else? I wave of nausea rolled over me. I wasn't sure what I'd do if I was on my own during the Dark Hour...

I stood up, still a little weak from the collapse earlier today, and approached the window that overlooked the city. I searched for the moon. It was hard to see through the fog and rainclouds, but I eventually spotted it near the horizon. It seemed to be crescent-ish, but I didn't know if it was waxing or waning, nor did I know how many days this would take. I'd have to look it up and ask Minato if it mattered.

His team...It was likely that I should try to locate his team. He was trying to reach them himself, after all...but what if they'd moved on already? I didn't want to tear open old wounds...

11:59. I practically stared at the clock as it counted down. I was beginning to fear midnight. That was always when the worst of the attacks happened. The Dark Hour had yet to last anywhere near an hour, but that made it worse; with no set time on it, I had no idea how to prepare. It could be anywhere from a split second thing, like the Shadow attack that scorched my arm, to a ten to twenty minute brawl, like the fight that had injured my parents.

This time...I glanced over my shoulder at the TV. The Midnight Channel would be on. It usually showed Minato, though it once showed an egg of some sort, with what appeared to be wires in front of it...what would happen this time?

The thunder crashed outside, setting me on edge even more.

Five...

I drew away from the window and focused my mind on my Persona, just in case. Izanagi. I knew I could control Izanagi. But I'd been trying to summon my Persona via card since the start, and it still didn't work. Maybe I just needed to try harder? I didn't want to see that device ever again, but what if I didn't have a choice?

Four...

I stepped into a corner of the room that gave me a good view of the window and the TV. I'd need to see both, after all.

Three...

I took one more look at Yosuke. Still asleep.

Two...

I'd been told that the TV was supposed to not work during the Dark Hour. I'd tested it, and it didn't...but the Midnight Channel still played, regardless.

One...

I braced myself.

The lantern we'd been using went out. The sky outside was quick to fade a dull green colour, and the moon grew many times its usual size. The streets were suddenly stained and splattered with blood instead of rain, and the clouds continued to pour, showing no signs of stopping. Outside I could see, through the fog, people turning into coffins, and I shot a quick glance at Yosuke.

He was still human.

I breathed an internal sigh of relief. That was one less thing to worry about.

Static began to sound from the TV, and once I'd quickly confirmed there were no Shadows in the apartment, I approached it and crouched down. The screen was entirely fuzzy for at least five seconds before it began to darken...but it wasn't turning off.

Red eyes suddenly began to glow through. My heart began to pound, and I recoiled a little, standing upright. I recognized those eyes...Minato had called the beast Erebus, hadn't he? The eyes tilted sideways, and its sharp, toothy grin began to stretch across the screen. My breath lodged in my throat. Why was I scared? It's not like...it couldn't see me, right...?

A large shriek sounded out, though it didn't come from the TV itself. It came from inside my head. Its hand slammed into the screen, and my vision completely blanked out, a force ramming into my chest. I heard something crack, and I collapsed.

The same heat I'd felt Minato fight Erebus with earlier in the day flared up, but again, only inside my head. It continued to grow until my entire body was burning up. In contrast to earlier, my heart was beating way too fast, my breath coming out in gasps. The inhuman wails and the pressure continued to fluctuate, and I felt my energy steadily draining from my body, perhaps as Minato used whatever strength I had to fight as well as his own. I struggled to open my eyes. The screen had been engulfed by fire and sparks, the sky was still green, the windows dripping red water.

I pulled my knees into my chest and drew into myself. As the heat began to become unbearable, I began to wonder if sweat was also red during the Dark Hour. I didn't think so, but I wasn't exactly sure, either.

Further away, in the real world, I heard an eagle Shadow shriek and slam into the door. I pressed my arms into the ground, but couldn't stand. Thanatos, out of my control, began to make himself clear in my mind, and I had to use what little strength I had, for once, to _not_ summon my Persona. I hadn't thought it possible to summon a Persona in the real world without that device, but then again, did I ever really call Thanatos off?

Sharply, suddenly, everything fell silent. The screen faded. The lamp light flickered back on, and the blood outside became rain once more. All that remained of the ordeal was a dull ache in my ribcage, and the heat. At that point, 'fever' may have been a better word for it.

I let out a painful, shuddering breath.

At least I was alive.

I slowly rolled onto my back. I was already dehydrated, but my limbs refused to cooperate with my mind, so I didn't budge from where I was on the floor to get water, or move to a cooler room in the house. It wasn't much, but I managed to take my shirt off and push it aside. It was all I could do. Maybe one day, bouncing back from an attack like that would get easier. For now, though, I simply closed my eyes and hoped I'd feel better in the morning.

I didn't sleep that night. Another sleepless night of many.


	7. The Evoker

_Wednesday, August 1, 2012, 12:57 PM_

* * *

I rolled over in my sleep, then jerked awake as I nearly fell off the couch. I barely managed to catch myself in time to keep from faceplanting on the floor, my heart pounding slightly from the small rush of adrenaline. I sat up with a sigh, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes as I cast a glance around for Seta.

He was lying on the floor in front of the TV, his breathing slightly heavy. Oddly enough, he'd taken his shirt off; it was lying in a crumpled heap a short distance away. It exposed his injured arm, which was charred black and rather painful to look at, and a dark bruise on his torso. Trying to ignore the weirdness of the situation, I swung my feet to the floor and went over to him, crouching down at his side and putting a hand to his forehead. The breath hissed through my teeth; he was practically burning with fever. Not wanting to wake him (assuming he was asleep), I straightened out and turned around, leaving him on the floor as I headed into the kitchen for some ice.

I opened the fridge-then immediately recoiled in horror. "Oh my god, what the hell is that?!" I swear I spent nearly a full minute just staring at the...thing...before I gave myself a mental shake and started digging around for an ice pack. I started to close the fridge door again, then as an afterthought I grabbed the UFO (Unidentified Food Object...I can't even call it 'food' though) and chucked it in the compost on my way back to the living room.

His eyes were opened slightly when I returned, and he was staring at the ceiling. When he heard my footsteps, he glanced at me and muttered a barely audible, 'Morning...' I crouched down next to him and set the ice pack on his forehead. "How're you feeling, man?"

"Thanks...I'm feeling better than I was last night...you slept through the Midnight Channel. You were at least...still human during the Dark Hour..." He sighed quietly and shut his eyes. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Yeah, I think so...better than I have lately, anyway." It took a moment for the rest of his statement to sink in, and when it did I stared back at him. "What do you mean, I was 'still human'...?"

"I think I mentioned over e-mail that there were coffins everywhere. People usually turn into coffins. Or maybe they're in them. Either way, you weren't a coffin, nor were you in one, so I think this means you can see the Dark Hour as well. My parents could only once, when they were human." He mumbled the whole thing rather quietly.

"...Is that a good thing?" I asked a little hesitantly.

"...I don't know. Is it?" He managed a wry laugh. "If you couldn't function during the Dark Hour, I'd be on my own...but you'd likely be safer. It's your call." He took a deep breath. "I'll feel better eventually. Feel free to look for something to do. There are some games for the PSP in my room, and there's a bathroom attached to mine and my parents' room if you need to use that as well..."

"...Alright," I said, deciding not to push him about it for now. I headed down the hallway and into his room. It was about as clean here as it had been in Inaba. It didn't look too different, either: A couch in the center and a TV on a drawer against the wall. A study desk in the far corner of the room that clearly displayed how much more he studied than I did. A bed rather than a futon in the opposite corner seemed to be the major difference. There was a portable closet by the door, and a drawer took up some blank space on the opposite wall. There was a small window just above it that provided a view outside, but it mostly stood out because the glass was broken. I also couldn't help but notice a strange black scorch mark at his bedside, as well, when it came to noting weird things.

Trying to ignore the unsettling amount of damage in the room, I started searching through it, looking for the PSP games Seta had mentioned. I eventually found them tucked away in a drawer of his study desk, stacked neatly on top of each other. Organized, just like the rest of his room. I was about to shut the drawer again when something at the back of it caught my eye. I pulled it open a little more, then froze.

There was a gun lying at the bottom of the drawer.

I wasn't sure how long I stood there staring at it, with multiple worst-case scenarios running through my head. Eventually I reached out for it, gingerly picking it up. I had no idea if the safety was on (it's not like Naoto ever let us handle her guns), so I was extremely careful to keep my fingers away from the trigger. No doubt about it; this wasn't a toy. Still staring at it, I slowly walked back out to the living room again. "Seta."

He must've heard that something was wrong, because he did his best to sit up, placing the ice pack aside. "The games are in the study desk, if that's what you're about to ask...Didn't want my parents knowing where I was spending my allowance."

"...Didn't want them knowing about this either?"

He blinked and rubbed his eyes, trying to focus. It was very obvious when he finally realized what I was holding. He flinched visibly, his fingers digging into the ground and his eyes growing wide. "...So that's where I left it." His voice was strained.

"What do you mean, 'where you left it'?" I demanded. "What the hell is a GUN doing in your drawer?!"

"...Technically, it's called an evoker." He turned his gaze away from me and looked out the window instead. "The night my parents were hospitalized, I misplaced it in my rush to call for help..."

"That's not answering my question. Why do you even have something like this in the first place...?!"

"...It's for summoning a Persona during the Dark Hour." He hesitated. "...I'm not sure you're going to like this. No, actually, you'll hate it. But summoning a Persona in the real world is a bit harder than it is in the TV world..."

"Oh yeah?" I'm not sure why the phrase 'summoning a Persona in the real world' didn't strike me as odd, but at the moment it didn't seem all that important.

"Yeah." He pulled himself to his feet, though he didn't quite seem steady. He all but forced himself over to me and carefully removed the gun from my hand. "It's a lot more traumatizing, if you think about it. In the TV world, we accepted ourselves, and summoning came naturally. In the real world, it doesn't, so the Persona has to be forced out."

"...Do I even want to know?"

"...I guess now, you have to." He took a deep breath and slowly raised the weapon until it was pressed against his temple, finger on the trigger.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" I snapped, grabbing his wrist and yanking his hand back. His grip on the weapon remained tight, but he didn't resist.

"I told you. Summoning your Persona is a lot harder here." His voice was shaking slightly. "You have to force it out. And in the real world, it doesn't require facing yourself. Rather, it seems to require facing death head on." He closed his eyes. "I don't make these rules. I just follow them."

"...You're saying we'd have to shoot ourselves in order to summon our Personas?" I asked quietly. The very thought of it nearly made me feel sick...

"...Yeah. Unfortunately, that's exactly what I'm saying. It's about as bad as it sounds. Trust me. I know."

"...Damnit..." I wasn't even sure what I could say in response to that. I was having a hard time trying to wrap my mind around it in the first place...

"...If you want to help me in the real world, then you're going to have to learn how to use it." He sounded like he was in pain. "But until then, put it away. I don't want to look at it, and you probably don't, either."

"...Fine," I said, taking the gun out of his grip. "...Don't go getting thoughts of suicide just because you're forced to use this, got it?"

He seemed a bit stunned for a second. "...You think I'm suicidal?" Somehow, he hadn't expected that..?

"...I don't know what to expect from you these days, man," I sighed, hating myself for having to admit it.

He looked a bit stung, and he dropped his gaze to his feet. "...Under my bed, there's a small box." He gave a slight smirk. "No, I don't keep the goods under the bed. Just that box. Could you please grab it for me?" He turned around and picked the icepack back up off the floor. He picked up his shirt and pulled it over his head, as well, before taking a seat on the couch and pressing the ice back against his forehead.

"Yeah, sure," I said, turning around to head back into his room again. I returned the gun to the drawer, then crouched down and peered under the bed. Sure enough, sitting under the bed was a box. I pulled it out and got to my feet again, returning to the living room and sitting down on the couch next to him again. He opened an eye and carefully took it from me, placing the ice aside and opening the lid. Quietly, he put it between us so I could get a better look.

The box was nearly overflowing with random trinkets. They ranged from fairly normal, such as a few photographs, to a bit odd, like a letter and a pen, to mundane, like a receipt from Junes (I could always bring him another one of those if it was that important...) and a kid's test results, to just plain weird, like an ema and a badge made of cardboard. But I only realized that it was important when I caught sight of something familiar: The bandage I'd given him by the riverbank.

"What is all this stuff...?" I asked, though something told me I probably already knew the answer.

"They're all things given to me by friends in Inaba. Granted, some of the items aren't in there...Chie's wristbands are on my study desk, and the mug on the table right now was given to me by Dojima-san...the strap on my phone was made by Kanji." He smiled peacefully. "I really miss you all when I'm on my own."

"..." I took my time responding, digging slightly through the box to see everything in there to fill up the silence. "...There's a lot of stuff in here," I responded finally.

"I guess that just means I had a lot of friends." He seemed a bit embarrassed, but not unhappy. "I've had a harder time staying in touch with some of them, but they all mean a lot to me..."

Almost as soon as he said that, any thoughts I might've had about him committing suicide left my mind. There was no way he could do something like that. "You know you mean a lot to us too, right?"

He managed a nod that could possibly be called 'shy'. "I like to think so."

"Yeah, well I know so," I said, giving him a light punch on the arm. "Don't forget that, got it?"

"...I won't." He picked up one of the photos and stared at it for a moment. "How is Nanako...? It's been hard to keep up with her...She's alright, I hope?"

"Yeah, she's been doing fine. Still misses her 'big bro', of course."

He smiled. "Maybe when the situation here becomes more stable, I should go to Inaba...I should wait for my parents to get out of the hospital, though...I wonder how Murfle is."

I glanced at him in confusion. "Murfle?"

"Murfle was...kind of my cat." He scratched the back of his head and laughed quietly. "A stray down by the riverbank. I would fish to feed the little guy a lot. I hope he's holding up."

He picked the ice up once more and pressed it against his forehead before reaching to a side desk. I hadn't even noticed the black laptop beside the lamp until he picked it up and opened it. "What're you doing?" I queried, setting the lid back on top of the box again.

"I was going to see if the others had sent an e-mail. Yukiko-san assured me that she would at least five times when she heard you were going to see me."

"Heh, did she?" I smirked, leaning over to see the screen.

He nodded and pulled up the e-mail tab, refreshing the page. Sure enough, there was an e-mail from Yukiko, which he was quick to open.

...

**To: Seta Narukami _(wildcardizanagi2011 (a)atlus .co .jp)_  
****From: Yukiko Amagi _(freebirdamagidyne (a)atlus .co .jp)_  
****Sent: Wed, August 1, 2012 at 10:01 AM  
****Subject: Greetings from Inaba!  
****Attachments:** JunesPhoto,jpg IMScreencap,jpg

_Hello! Yosuke (if Yosuke's not with you now, Seta, go get him), I hope you had a safe trip to Tatsumi Port Island. Seta, I hope you're in good health. Yosuke told us there was this incident over the phone, so we've been a bit worried. Take care of each other, you hear? I've attached a group photo of us at Junes, as well as some best wishes from an IM chat (when I could compose the group for two seconds!), so make sure to send us a few pictures from your end, okay? We look forward to them! Seta, we'll make sure we all come stay at your place sometime, so look forward to that. Make sure to have fun, you two._

_-Yukiko Amagi_

...

Attached was a photo of them waving at the camera at our usual spot at Junes. It seemed that, in the background, Teddie was trying to force Kanji and Naoto to hold hands. The fox was also being held up by Yukiko, and Nanako seemed pretty happy, waving enthusiastically. Also attached was a snippet of an IM chat.

...

**freebirdamagidyne:  
**Alright, guys, I'm going to take a screenshot of this whether it works out in the end or not, so get it right!  
**kickchick730:  
**you guys made Yukiko mad? geez, now you've done it. hi, Yosuke, Seta! ...when did you become internet savvy, Yukiko?  
**freebirdamagidyne:  
**There are websites for that. Besides, it's not that hard...  
**pintsizeddetectiveprincess:  
**Let's all have a group webcam chat while you're over there. It'll be fun. I look forward to it.  
**risettenarukami:  
**Ooh, me too! Have a great time, you guys!  
**1luckykuma:  
**I wanted to come...  
**renovateyourass:  
**youve only said so, what, 10000 times already? one of these days. make sure to stay in touch! well see you soon, yosuke-senpai! bring souvenirs!  
**1luckykuma:  
**Nana-chan says hi, Sensei! let us know how everything goes!  
**risettenarukami:  
**You'd better send us a few e-mails, and pictures, or I'm gonna cry!  
**freebirdamagidyne:  
**...There. Was that really so hard?  
**pintsizeddetectiveprincess:  
**I know we're all excited, but did I really have to threaten to shoot everyone?

...

Seta choked on his laughter when he read that. So did I.

...

**renovateyourass:  
**wait, you threatened to do what? when? i cant find it in teh chat history  
**pintsizeddetectiveprincess:  
**I didn't. Next time I talk to Senpai, I'm going to ask if he truly believed I did that.  
**freebirdamagidyne:  
**I was surprised you didn't make that threat when we created your e-mail address...  
**risettenarukami:  
**That is so evil, Naoto! I didn't know you had it in you!  
**kickchick730:  
**my gut hurts...!  
**freebirdamagidyne:  
**Oh, our conversations sometimes...  
**1luckykuma:  
**hey! while we're here, let's see if we can get Kanji to confess to Naoto!  
**renovateyourass:  
**what?!  
**pintsizeddetectiveprincess:  
**Don't be ridiculous.

...

Judging by the fact that the screencap ended there, they weren't able to get a confession out of him. Shame, really. Seta rubbed his eyes, unable to mask his amusement no matter how hard he tried. I wasn't even bothering to try.

"We should take a picture later today, but not now. I probably look awful." I hadn't really thought about it, but now that he'd mentioned it, I noticed that his eyes were red, and the fever and stress had left him a bit disheveled.

I nodded. "Yeah, we can wait 'til later for that. There's no rush." Something caught my eye, and I glanced at the screen again. "...Hey, there's something in your junk folder."

"...That's weird. I don't think I've ever given this e-mail out..." He raised an eyebrow and thought for a moment before shaking his head. "No, this one's specifically for you guys." He quickly clicked on the folder, and the inbox came up. There was only one e-mail in it, and its title was in all caps.

**Subject: WARNING**

"...Probably spam..." But he looked concerned. He glanced at me, but I shrugged. How would I know who sent it, or why? He clicked on it, and the message opened. It was loud and clear:

...

**To: _wildcardizanagi2011 _****(a)atlus .co **.jp  
**From: ? _(?)_**  
**Sent: -, - -, - at - -**  
**Subject: WARNING**

_The evoker in your possession does not belong to you. We do not know how you managed to obtain it, nor does it matter now. We will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you did not steal it. You have twenty four hours to bring it back. I will be waiting at the marketplace. If you do not return it, we will take matters into our own hands. I will reclaim it by force, and whatever happens as a result will be your fault alone. Make your choice._

_Artemis_


	8. The Discussion

_Wednesday, August 1, 2012, 1:24 PM_

* * *

Upon reading the e-mail, I surprised myself by not being afraid. Instead, I found myself angry. Furious, even. What the hell...?! I wasn't even sure who to be upset with: The sender of the e-mail, myself, or _Minato_, for completely failing to inform me that anyone would be angry.

I hadn't obtained the evoker on my own. I knew nothing about the people who'd owned it prior (I still didn't), so Minato had given the task of finding it to somebody else: A girl named Hamuko Ichikita. She was a normal girl with no Persona abilities, according to Minato; the two were just linked mentally somehow, and had been for a long time. They'd been internet friends when he'd been alive, it seemed. She'd been a rather perky girl. After she'd given me the gun-like object, she'd barged into the house and tried to make me dinner. We'd spent the evening trading recipes and cooking strategies. It'd been weird, but I liked her.

Hopefully she wasn't receiving threats as well.

It only then struck me: Why hadn't he made Hamuko try to communicate with his old friends? Was it because we couldn't prove it...?

"Are you okay?" Yosuke's voice snapped me back into reality, and his question definitely caught me off guard. He'd been asking it a lot lately (with good reason), but...Was he worried that the e-mail's contents were getting to me?

"Yeah...yeah, I'm okay. Thanks." I shut my eyes and leaned my head against the couch backrest. I still had a pounding headache, and I still had a fever...I must've looked pretty awful. "...I'm...I'm going to try and reach Minato."

"...Come again?"

"...If I try...I might be able to reach him...So give me a moment."

He gave me a strange look, but he didn't protest, instead falling quiet so I could focus. I took a deep breath and pulled back into my own mind, taking in the silence, sorting through my emotions until everything was still and peaceful. I tried to tune out every sound, until I couldn't even hear myself breathe, until I couldn't feel the world around me. It's hard to describe it exactly, but I guess it's best called a combination of meditation, sleeping, and astral travel, and I don't even believe in that last one.

For a while, I felt like I was stranded alone in time. I had no sense of seconds, minutes, or hours, and I couldn't feel anything else. I rarely was the one trying to reach Minato, as somehow, despite the fact I physically didn't go anywhere, it was utterly exhausting.

_'Minato.'_

The silence stretched out...the numbness began to shift into heat. I didn't want to fight it in case I lost my concentration, and soon, I felt like I was drowning in it. I gasped for breath. It wasn't worth this. I could reach him later...but I seemed to be trapped by it, and I couldn't budge. It was like being locked inside my own head, pinned by flame.

Somewhere in the distance, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

Moments later, a lot closer, I felt somebody crouching down beside me.

_'You look awful. Need a hand?'_

Minato held out his hand to me, and I took it. He pulled me to my feet. _'You know, you're kind of an idiot. It's easier for me to reach you because I don't have a physical body to worry about. You're leaving yourself defenseless.'_

_'Yosuke's got my back.'_ I had no shred of doubt in that regard.

The smile that crossed his face was almost nostalgic. _'...Reminds me of me...'_ I wanted to comfort him, but I didn't know what to say. I had a reason to be here, so it was time to get started.

_'I received an e-mail,'_ I told him cautiously.

_'...I miss the internet.'_

...Goddamnit, now I felt bad. I decided to press forward. _'...It was from a woman...presumably, it was a woman...calling herself Artemis. I don't know, it could've been a man, but I doubt it. She said I have twenty four hours to bring back the evoker, since it isn't mine. She's probably a friend of yours.'_

_'She has no right.'_ Minato had a rather amused grin on his face_. 'Because it's mine, and I gave it to you.' _Oh, if only it were that easy...

_'I can't prove that.'_ He laughed and ruffled my hair. Why did he treat me like a child sometimes...? _'You're not that much older than me...'_

_'Sure I'm not, kid.'_

I death glared him, but he just laughed at me. _'You can prove it.'_

...What?

_'You can prove that the evoker is yours now. You just need to tell her.'_

_'...She's not going to take my word for it.'_

_'Then I'll give you information that'll prove it. The sender is probably an old friend of mine, Mitsuru Kirijo. Her Persona was Artemisia, so 'Artemis' makes sense as a nickname.'_

...Wait, what?

_'_That_ Mitsuru? The woman who's practically in charge of the Kirijo group at this point?'_

_'That one.'_ He nodded._ 'We fought Shadows together in high school.'_

...And just when I thought things couldn't get any weirder, the daughter of one of the most powerful groups in Japan turns out to be a Persona user. I wanted to say right there I couldn't be surprised anymore, but then he'd one up that.

_'I also slept with her!'_

_'...Oh, god! I didn't need to know that!'_ I shook my head vigorously. _'Are you serious?!'_

_'I don't know. Am I?'_

Make it stop... _'How am I supposed to know?'_ I looked away from him, knowing it wouldn't mask the fact I was blushing. _'S-So. What information do I give her...? How do I prove that you gave me the evoker?'_

_'Send her an e-mail in response, or meet her in person, either one is fine.' _His face lit up. _'Mention my name, and then tell her what name she yelled out in bed.'_

_'NO!'_ I yelled frantically. _'I can't do that!'_ He was laughing so hard I thought he was going to injure something. I kind of hoped he would injure something. Jerk. _'I would be dead before the hour was up.'_

_'Yeah, she'd execute you.'_ ...I really didn't like the sound of that._ 'No, rather, tell her that you're in touch with me, and let her ask the questions. As many as she chooses. I'll answer them to the best of my abilities for you. But start by telling her this: I'm sorry that I never got to see them on the rooftop after graduation like I promised.' _...It was amazing how quickly his demeanor had changed. _'I don't have many regrets, but I do wish I could've held on just a little longer...'_

...I stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder. _'You're doing what you can for them from here. That's more than enough.'_ I thought for a moment. _'You have Hamuko and I to get your team back together, if it's that important. Why haven't you asked us?'_

He sighed._ '...I feel like...that's something I have to do myself. It's been a few years, you know? Sending a stranger to do that job feels wrong.' _...Fair enough._ 'Mitsuru will probably do it herself once you send her the e-mail, so I guess it doesn't matter anymore.' _He seemed a little bit dejected._ '...Maybe I'll have to ask you for another favor...but I'll cross that bridge when I get there.'_

I released his shoulder and started to step back when he put his hand on my forehead. _'Geez, maybe you could use an execution. At least executions are freezing.'_

_'I'll pass.'_

_'I'm sure you will.' _He grinned._ 'I won't keep you.' _He stepped away. _'But a warning. The attacks are only going to get worse, you know. They're not attacks humans should be capable of withstanding...'_

He flicked his wrist, and a card appeared in his hand._ 'I guess you and I are different, aren't we?' _He crushed it, and a figure appeared behind him. I'd never seen it before, but I could sense a huge amount of power radiating from it. It was a pure white figure attached to a pillar. I recognized the coffins running down the Persona's arm... They looked almost exactly like...

_'...Thanatos...'_ I whispered.

_'What about Thanatos?'_

_'He's your Persona...isn't he?'_ Yosuke had mentioned it, but only now was I sure.

_'Yes. Why?'_

_'...I summoned him. But I couldn't control him.'_

Minato seemed concerned._ 'I kind of housed Thanatos...Death...for ten years. You probably didn't...' _Probably? _'So it only makes sense that he would be harder for you to control...'_

_'Harder for me to control?'_ I asked dully. _'He put both my parents in the hospital.'_

_'...Oh.'_ This was news to him._ 'Oh, um...I'm sorry to hear that...I guess...that's kind of my fault, huh? My Persona, after all...'_

I shook my head. _'I summoned him, not you. I guess I just have to get stronger.'_

I held out my hand and focused, crushing the card that appeared. Izanagi-no-Okami took form behind me. Minato seemed fascinated, and he glanced over it._ 'Is this your ultimate Persona?' _he asked.

_'Yes. And I assume that one is yours.'_

_'Yeah. Messiah.'_

...His ultimate Persona was _Messiah?_

He saw my face. _'Yeah, I'm totally headphones Jesus!'_ ...How can he say stuff like that with a straight face?! _'And this is...?'_

_'Izanagi-no-Okami.'_

He stared at it for a long time before shrugging. _'Not bad,' _he finally said.

_'...Not bad?'_ What did he mean by that?

'_You still have a ways to go, kid.' _He was grinning mischievously. Was that a challenge?

_'I'll take you up on that.'_

_'You're going to have to. Otherwise, there's no telling what the gods I'm up against will do to you.'_ He finally put his hands into his pockets. _'I remember when I used to be more reserved. Whatever, I guess.' _He turned away._ '...You're a good kid. Take care of yourself, okay? If Mitsuru gives you a hard time, I'll give her hell. I think I'm the only one who can.' _He nodded, a serene look on his face. _'Give her my regards. I'll talk to you later.'_

_'Fight hard out there.'_

He smiled. _'I will.'_

The void somehow managed to melt away as I opened my eyes, the darkness of it staining the real world in a mess of colours that caused my head to ache. My fever had gotten worse, it felt like. Yosuke had his hand on my shoulder, as if to steady me, and he looked concerned.

"Got it," I murmured.

"Got what?"

I wasn't sure how to answer that, so instead, I took my laptop from the table and pulled up a response e-mail.

...

**To: Artemis _(?)_  
****From: Seta Narukami _(wildcardizanagi2011 (a)atlus .co .jp)_  
****Sent: Wed, August 1, 2012 at 1:37 PM  
****Subject: RE: WARNING**

_Unfortunately, you're wrong. That evoker is mine. The evoker belonged to Minato Arisato, and I've been told to inform you that he has granted its possession to me. With the Dark Hour on the verge of returning, I'll need it more than you will, as I assume you all have your own. I will still come to the marketplace, if you so desire, but I will not have the evoker with me, and I'll be staying away from any alleys where you could have me executed._

_Mitsuru Kirijo. That's who this is, right? Minato told me about you. I won't go into details, as I'm afraid if I do, I may be assassinated. If you need any proof, you may send me another e-mail with questions for him, and I will get you answers. For now, he wants me to leave you with this: He is sorry that he never got to see you on the roof after graduation. He tried hard, but I guess his time just ran out. He's putting up a good fight out there, but he may be needing your help soon. You were friends, right? Perhaps even more. Or maybe he was kidding. Whatever the case may be, I'm sure it will hurt, but you need to keep an open mind for him. He can't do this alone._

_-Izanagi_

...

I glanced sideways at Yosuke, who was staring at the e-mail with his jaw half hanging open. I waited for him to make a comment, and when he didn't, I simply pressed 'send' and shut the laptop. "That felt good."

"Uhh...you sure that was a good idea, man?" he muttered, sounding almost fearful.

"No. She's a very powerful woman, after all." I gave a slight smirk. "But I would pay a lot of money to get a picture of her face when she reads it."

"I...just...you..." He facepalmed. "You're a reckless idiot sometimes, you know that?"

"Aren't we all." I stood up, trembling violently due to fever and exhaustion. "I'm going to take a shower. I feel like a mess. You can turn on the TV or actually play those games you found, if you want."

He nodded, clearly worried. "You won't pass out in there...?"

"Shouldn't." I headed for the hallway.

"...You said something aloud while you were talking to Minato-san. Something about being dead within the hour. Is everything alright?" ... ... ...

"...Yeah. Don't worry, you missed the context on that one, I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

I guess that phrase would freak anyone out... "I was saying that Kirijo-san was going to kill me, not that I was about to die. I didn't mean to worry you."

I hadn't thought about it, but Yosuke was really locked out of the loop here. He couldn't see or hear my conversations with Minato, he had yet to witness the Dark Hour or use an evoker, he had no idea what we were up against in terms of Erebus and the second god...and I couldn't seem to keep my act together for five minutes. I'd nearly died twice, I'd lost control over a Persona, I was burning with fever as we spoke...

He'd come all the way from Inaba to make sure that I was okay.

"...Thank you."

"Huh?"

"..." I wasn't sure what else to say. I dropped my gaze to my feet and shut my eyes.. "It...It really means a lot to me..."

He stared at me, seeming a little confused. "Where's this coming from?"

I nearly told him that it was stupid and to forget it, but the words wouldn't come out. I didn't find this stupid. And even if I told him to forget it,_ I _wasn't about to.

"...You hardly know what's going on half the time...I've been hiding this for a while...but you keep looking out for me. You dropped everything you were doing and came here to see me after the incident on the phone. You didn't have to."

"Yeah, I did. We're partners, aren't we?"

"You can say that you had to, but the truth is that no one is making you. You don't _have_ to be here." I felt weirdly exposed...I quietly remembered how yesterday, I'd started cracking under the pressure. How I'd admitted to wanting my parents home. How I'd come that close to crying.

I couldn't help but notice just how honest he'd been with me since he'd arrived, and how much I'd kept quiet for the past month returned to stab me in the gut.

I didn't deserve the trust he'd put in me. Maybe in Inaba, I had. But not here.

Maybe he'd noticed. Maybe he hadn't. Though if he had, he probably would've said something.

"If you're asking me to leave-" he began.

"Hell no." He stopped short. "...You don't have to be here. But you are. And I won't ever be able to thank you enough for that."

There was a long silence. Figuring the conversation was done, I turned away, but I stopped at the doorway to my bedroom. "...Why? Do you want to leave?" I asked.

"I was about to tell you that pigs are more likely to fly out of your ass, dude. I'm not going anywhere until we've worked this out. Together. Got it?"

I was glad that the angle stopped him from seeing my face, because I was getting teary eyed. "Got it."

I shut the door to my room behind me and went to the bathroom. I didn't lock any of the doors, and just in case I did pass out in the shower, I didn't completely undress, either. I set the water to a very cold temperature and just stood under it for a while. The fever was making my thoughts near incomprehensible, and I eventually let them go. No sense working things out now. There'd be time for that later.

I figured I shouldn't take too long, if Yosuke was as worried as he seemed to be about my clearly flickering consciousness. I kept it short. I barely bothered to dry off, and I didn't waste time throwing a new shirt on, either, instead letting myself fall onto my bed when I was done. I guess no one realizes that we take beds for granted until they sleep on the floor. I closed my eyes and let my muscles relax.

"You alright?" I heard from outside.

"Mm."

"...You decent?"

"Mmhmm."

The door opened, and I heard him laugh quietly. "Comfortable?"

"Mm."

He came over to me and pressed his hand against my forehead. "Damn, you're still in pretty bad shape..." He didn't have to tell me.

"It'll pass."

"I hope so." I heard him leave, and he came back with another ice pack. I accepted it gratefully.

"You're free to use my computer to reach the others. Wake me if you need anything," I told him quietly. I needed some proper rest, and we both knew it. It was a question of whether or not I could actually sleep in this state.

"Sure thing." But his tone said, 'I'm only waking you if a monster climbs out of your fridge'. (I considered this very possible. I'm sure he did too.) I practically had to force one eye open to see him walk into the bathroom, and when he returned, he placed a few medicine caplets and a glass of water on the stand by my bed. The caplets were nighttime pills, so they'd probably help me sleep. I managed to take them, and he returned the cup to the bathroom. "By the time you wake up, I bet you I'll have completed one of those games," he called back.

I smirked. "Loser pays for dinner tonight." Though there was a high chance I would sleep through dinner...

"You're on." He chuckled and headed for the door. "...Sleep well, okay? If anything comes up, I'll take care of it. Anything I should know about?"

"...Wake me if the hospital calls," I murmured. The truth was, though, if the hospital called, it was probably bad news.

His face fell. "Yeah. I will. Try not to worry about that, okay? Goodnight." Neither of us cared that it was the middle of the afternoon.

"Night." I closed my eyes, and my whole body practically shut down.


	9. The Visit

_Wednesday, August 1, 2012, 2:00 PM_

* * *

I returned to the living room and sat back down on the couch again with a sigh. I'd taken a few PSP games from Seta's desk drawer again before I'd left him; I set those on the table before I grabbed my headphones that were sitting beside them. I didn't remember taking them off last night, but apparently I had. I slipped them on, set my player to shuffle, then reached over and pulled his laptop towards me, pushing the lid open.

He hadn't logged out of his e-mail when he'd shut it, so on a whim I decided to refresh it. Nothing new. Not that I'd been expecting anything. I logged out before signing into my own e-mail. There were a couple new e-mails in my inbox; one of them was from Yukiko, who had apparently CC'd me in her e-mail to Seta earlier. There was another from Teddie as well.

...

**To: Yosuke Hanamura _(magician94 (a)atlus .co .jp)_  
****From: Teddie _(1luckykuma_**** (a)atlus .co** .jp)  
**Sent: Wed, August 1, 2012 at 11:52 AM  
****Subject: You Forgot Something Beary Important!**

_Hey, Yosuke! I just wanted to let you know, you left your laptop at home. Which you know you wouldn't have forgotten if you'd let me come with you~_

_*Teddie*_

...

I sighed in exasperation and hit the Reply button.

...

**To: Teddie _(1luckykuma_**** (a)atlus .co** .jp)  
**From: Yosuke Hanamura _(magician94_**** (a)atlus .co** .jp)  
**Sent: Wed, August 1, 2012 at 2:03 PM  
****Subject: RE: You Forgot Something Beary Important!**

_I didn't forget it, I left it behind on purpose. My laptop's too big to be lugging around the place. And you know the reason you had to stay behind, remember last week? While we were restocking in cosmetics? You still gotta pay back for that._

_-Yosuke_

...

After sending my reply, I sifted through and trashed a few spam e-mails (unlike Seta, I didn't keep my address solely within our group). I was about to log out and close the window again when a reply suddenly appeared in my inbox. That was fast.

...

**To: Yosuke Hanamura _(magician94_**** (a)atlus .co** .jp)  
**From: Teddie _(1luckykuma_**** (a)atlus .co** .jp)  
**Sent: Wed, August 1, 2012 at 2:05 PM  
****Subject: RE: You Forgot Something Beary Important!**

_Yay, you're on! Quick, log into IM, we're all waiting for you!_

_*Teddie*_

...

I smirked to myself. "Alright then," I muttered. It took me a couple minutes to find the IM program on Seta's computer and launch it. As soon as I did, I was immediately bombarded with a group chat.

...

**1luckykuma:  
**Yosuke!  
**pintsizeddetectiveprincess:  
**Good afternoon, Senpai.  
**kickchick730:  
**it's about time you got on!  
**renovateyourass:  
**yo senpai!  
**freebirdamagidyne:  
**We've been waiting for you.  
**magician94:  
**Hey guys  
**risettenarukami:  
**Where's Seta-senpai?  
**magician94:  
**He's sleeping right now, caught a bit of a fever I think  
**1luckykuma:  
**sensei's sick?! D=  
**freebirdamagidyne:  
**Oh, that's pretty horrible timing...  
**renovateyourass:  
**let him know we hope he gets better soon. hes too tough to let that keep him down for long  
**risettenarukami:  
**wish I were there. I could make him soup. ;)  
**freebirdamagidyne:  
**...  
**magician94:  
**...probably a good thing you're not. You guys haven't even seen his fridge yet  
**kickchick730:  
**'yet' being the key word.  
**pintsizeddetectiveprincess:  
**I think you're missing the point, both of you. Rise can't cook.  
**risettenarukami:  
**How rude! :(  
**magician94:  
**NO ONE could cook with what's in that fridge. trust me on this one  
**freebirdamagidyne:  
**Really? What about Seta himself?  
**magician94:  
**...I honestly hope that he orders takeout every night  
**renovateyourass:  
**it cant really be that bad...  
**magician94:  
**Ohhh, trust me on this one, i've seen it in person  
**pintsizeddetectiveprincess:  
**I'm sure he has his ways of surviving. I wouldn't worry too much about him.

...

_"...Let's try this again."_

"...Huh?" I paused in confusion. I was pretty sure I didn't have a song with that lyric in it on my phone.

_"Is anybody out there...? Mitsuru...Yukari...Junpei...or maybe I should try a new approach."_

"...Well, I'm not them, but I'm here. Again." Briefly the thought of why the hell I was trying to answer this voice again flashed through my mind.

_"...Yosuke."_

That one caught me completely off guard. "...Yeah?" What felt like a spark shot through my mind. It was surreal...

_"...Got it."_

An image floated to the front of my mind, of a boy about my age. No...not really. He looked much older, somehow.

_"Yosuke, right...?"_

"Yeah, that's me," I answered slowly. I wasn't sure who this guy was...but the more I thought about it, the more only one answer came to mind. "...You're Minato, aren't you?"

_"Yes. I was told I reached you yesterday. I figured I might try again."_

"Yeah, you did," I replied, deciding not to add that he'd made me look like an idiot trying to reply. "Are you looking for your friends or something...?"

_"I suppose, but I don't seem to be doing very well. I suppose it's because my Social Links aren't as strong as they used to be..."_

"Social Links...You mean like Seta's?"

_"Mm. Yeah. But I haven't spoken to anyone I've known in two, maybe three years. Figured I never would again, and now that I've been given the opportunity, I can't reach them...I guess I'm getting through to you because Seta's Social Links are much stronger..."_

"Huh..." I thought about that one for a moment. "...Wait, what do you mean, because of Seta's Social Links? What does that have to do with you getting through to me?"

_"Seta and I are connected somehow. It's a recent development, so I don't know much about it...and to say we're anything like the same person is stretching it...but he can summon my Personas, we can feel each other's emotions, and we can reach each other nonverbally, so there's something going on. I believe I'm reaching you through his Social Links because, on some level, they're now mine, too."_

"...Well, that would explain a few things. Like that Persona he summoned, he said he'd never seen it before. And him declaring he was going to talk to you and practically passing out."

_"You know, I told him that was stupid. He's all but leaving his body behind when he does that. He said that you had his back. I've never heard any words spoken so confidently."_

I smirked. "Ha, he's got the right to be confident. I'm not leaving him to deal with this on his own."

_"...Your connection really does remind me of my team. It's a hard thing to obtain, but it's a priceless thing to have. Hold on to that."_

"Yeah...I guess we have been through a lot together," I muttered, briefly flashing back on all the events that had happened in Inaba during his stay.

_"...If you plan on helping him, you're about to go through a hell of a lot more. I hope you're prepared."_

"Been ready. Why else would I be out here right now?"

_"You seem confident. Any idea what you're up against?"_

"...No. Not really."

_"Then I'll show you."_

With that, my eyesight cut short, only to be replaced with a new image entirely, if it could be called an 'image'. I could see that we were somewhere, but that somewhere only appeared to be a void of darkness...

Something caught in the corner of my eye, but my vision didn't shift on my command. Instead of looking at what was coming towards us, my eyes shut. An inhuman shriek began to fill my ears, and when my eyes opened again, I could see it: A massive, red eyed, two-headed hellspawn that had to come from the depths of somebody's worst nightmares, and was quickly about to take its place in my own. Its teeth were permanently bared, and behind it, I could see a completely separate hand raising into the air, right before both creatures lashed out.

And without warning, I was back in the living room, staring at the laptop screen. My breathing was coming in short gasps, and it took me a few moments to realize that I'd broken out in a cold sweat.

_"This isn't to be taken lightly."_

I didn't reply. _Couldn't_ would be more accurate, I was still trying to recover from that vision he'd shown me. If I'd thought Izanami was bad...I couldn't even begin to describe those monsters.

_"For now, though...it seems I'll hold out."_

The vision snapped back once more. I only realized I was seeing through Minato's eyes when he lifted his hand up, and a red aura began to materialize around his fingers...sparks began to jump from the ground. With that, there was a massive explosion that sent both beasts reeling backwards. He gave them no time to recover, and the explosions continued to go off until they had both recoiled into the darkness, leaving an empty void once more. The living room came back into view.

_"I guess there really is strength to be had in numbers. Even if that number is only 'two'. Who would've thought."_

This time, I finally managed to recover my voice. "...You're borrowing Seta's strength to fight them off? No wonder he's got such a high fever..."

_"I don't want to, but I'm afraid it's necessary. I've been granted permission from him. Besides, it's easier to drive them away before they reach me than it is to fight them off in close range. He's safer for it, too. He'll have much bigger problems than a fever if I can't win."_

...There wasn't much I could say in response to that. "Just...try to take it a bit easy on him? It's not going to help if Seta's strength gives out too."

_"I'm doing what I can. When I don't need it, he can borrow my strength. I'm sure there'll come a time. For now, though, I should probably leave you alone. I'm sure you have a lot to think about, and it seems I've got another fight to handle."_

"...Alright. Good luck."

_"You too."_

I was left staring off into space for a few minutes, thinking over the conversation we'd just had, when I suddenly remembered that I'd been chatting with the rest of the gang and hurriedly glanced down at the screen again.

...

**1luckykuma:  
**yoooooohooooooooo  
**kickchick730:  
**are you distracted, Yosuke...?  
**pintsizeddetectiveprincess:  
**Should we assume something evil climbed out of the fridge and call the cops?  
**magician94:  
**ha, no, there's no reason to call you out here yet. I was just talking to someone else, sorry about that  
**risettenarukami:  
**Seta-senpai?! Is he awake yet?!  
**magician94:  
**...no, he's gonna need more rest than that  
**risettenarukami:  
**Aw...it's not polite to keep a lady waiting. :(  
**freebirdamagidyne:  
**It's also not really polite to use the guy's last name when you're not married to him.  
**pintsizeddetectiveprincess:  
**...  
**renovateyourass:  
**...am i sensing sparks here or is that just me?  
**magician94:  
**Certainly seems a lot hotter  
**kickchick730:  
**you alright, Yukiko?  
**freebirdamagidyne:  
**I'm fine.  
**risettenarukami:  
**^^; It's a long story, Yukiko-senpai.  
**freebirdamagidyne:  
**I'm sure it is.  
**1luckykuma:  
**we'd love to hear it~!  
**pintsizeddetectiveprincess:  
**I don't know, do we?

...

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. I typed a quick "brb" and set the laptop on the table before getting to my feet and answering it. A woman was standing there. She had long red hair that nearly fell down to her waist, and brown eyes that kind of seemed to show that she hated me already. She wore a black jacket and white jeans, and black boots that stopped just below the knee. She wore a rather expensive looking bag over her shoulder. Somehow, judging solely by the way she carried herself, I could tell she was important...

I recognized her from somewhere.

"Good afternoon."

"...Hi," was all I could respond with, pulling my headphones off and settling them around my neck as usual. "Can I help you...?"

"My name is Mitsuru Kirijo. I'm looking for Seta Narukami. Whether or not he knew I was coming, he probably will know why I'm here."

Having no idea what to say in response to that, I did the first thing that came to mind: I facepalmed. "Oh god, he's in for it now..." I muttered under my breath, turning around. "Hang on a moment." I stepped over to his door and knocked lightly on it. "Uh...Seta?"

"...Mmph."

"...You might want to get out here, man."

"...Alright..."

There was shuffling from beyond the door, and a moment later, it swung open. He rubbed his eyes slightly. "What is it..." Mitsuru stared at him for a long time, and his face suddenly went bright red as he realized he wasn't wearing his shirt. Almost immediately, he slammed the door behind him. "_Goddamnit, Yosuke!_ Warn me when we have company!"

I facepalmed a third time, while simultaneously trying to hold back a bout of laughter. "Right, sorry...forgot to mention that."

"G-Give me a moment...! F-Feel free to come in, ma'am!" His voice was unusually flustered.

She blinked and slowly stepped inside, shutting the door behind her. She ran her fingers down the stained walls. "Something happened here," she said slowly. She glanced at me. "Do you know?"

"...It's a long story," I said, trying to dodge the question. "Um, would you like to come in and sit? I'd offer you a drink, but I honestly don't trust the fridge, so..."

"...Really, now? Fascinating. The rest of the house is rather well kept." She shrugged her shoulders and went down the hall, taking a seat at the couch.

Seta came out of his room a moment later, wearing a long sleeved t-shirt, despite the fact I could tell he still had a fever. I wondered, slightly amused, if he was feeling modest all of a sudden. "I'm...I'm really sorry about that." His face was still a little red. "Um...you are...?"

"Mitsuru Kirijo. I know who you are, so there's no need to introduce yourself. I'm here for answers, and you will give them to me. Are we clear?"

He nodded, surprisingly not seeming too intimidated. "Would you like a drink?"

"I was told your fridge was untrustworthy." How could she say that with a straight face...?

"Just 90% of it. What would you like?"

She seemed a bit suspicious. "...Water's fine."

He nodded and disappeared into the kitchen, coming back moments later with three bottled waters. He handed one to me, and then one to her, before he pulled a rolling chair from his parents room and sat down on it, facing her. Not wanting to end up sitting next to Mitsuru, I opted for the floor.

"So. Where do we start, exactly?" Seta asked.

"With the evoker. Is it still in your possession?"

"Yes. If you want it back, I'm afraid I'll have to say no."

The silence that followed that statement was unnerving. She was glaring at him, a look he didn't seem afraid of. Her eyes narrowed, and she slowly reached into her shoulder bag, pulling out...hopefully, it was an evoker, and not a real gun.

"What do you know about the Dark Hour?" she asked.

"Only that it's resurfacing, and that there are Shadows wandering around in that time. Shadows are fought with Personas. Other than that, not much more."

"How did you obtain a Persona?"

"It's a long story that involves TVs. I'm not sure you have time for it."

I think the statement offended her a little, but she kept her cool. "Are you making fun of me?"

"No." He glanced at me, as if asking for my opinion on something. He jerked his head towards the TV to his left. Mitsuru patiently waited for us to go somewhere with this. I hesitated, then simply shrugged in response. If he thought it would help...

He thought for another moment, then turned the chair around so he was facing the screen. He slowly, cautiously pressed his finger against it, and put his entire hand through. It was interesting to see a woman like Mitsuru caught off guard, but it was clear she hadn't seen this before. "I received a Persona inside," he said slowly. "I've never seen the Dark Hour up until a month ago."

She slowly nodded. Back to her old composure. "...How did you summon a Persona in there?"

"I didn't need an evoker. All I had to do was focus. It's different during the Dark Hour, though. For now it is, at least."

Her eyes narrowed. "...What's your connection with Minato Arisato?" she finally asked.

Seta blinked, and slowly smiled. "I have no idea. It exists, but that's all I know."

She _hated_ that answer. I could see it in her eyes, and by the way her fingers dug into the couch arm. "That's ridiculous. How can you know about all of this but not know how you're talking to him...?" Her voice was shaking with what may've been rage.

"He was simply calling. And I answered. I'm still confused myself. All I can do is help him uphold his place against the two demons he's fighting."

"...Two?"

"Yeah. Erebus and...something else. Neither of us know." He shrugged his shoulder. "He's going to need your help, you know. He can't see the Dark Hour, nor the TV world, from where he is. If there are answers down here, he's going to need his team."

"...We're not familiar with any world inside the TV," she said slowly. "I'm afraid you're on your own in that regard."

Seta let out a short laugh. "Who said I was on my own?" He smiled easily, but didn't look at me. I don't think he wanted to drag me into this conversation. She was a rather scary woman, after all. "Evokers in that world are unnecessary. However, if we're going to summon Personas during the Dark Hour, we'll need one. And Minato gave me his."

She looked very doubtful, and slowly held out hers. It was his turn to look skeptical, but he took it. "You may keep the one you have, if you can do one thing for me."

He nodded slowly.

"...I want you to summon your Persona. Here and now."

He looked startled. "Can Personas be summoned during the daytime...?"

"That's for you to figure out." Her eyes were cold. "If you can't, I'm afraid you aren't worthy of keeping Arisato's."

He stared at the gun in his hand and slowly began to rise to his feet. "...Do you want me to summon one of his Personas...?"

The shock was only there for an instant before it was gone again. "Can you?"

"...Yes." He shut his eyes. "Orpheus, right...?"

She took a deep breath and gave a slow nod. If he'd died, it must've been a long time ago that she last saw that Persona... "...Do you share his ability?" she murmured.

"...The Wild Card? Yes. I do."

This was all coming down hard on her. It showed, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. Likewise, Seta's calmness was fading as he stared at the gun. But he'd made a promise, even if the word had never been used. Summoning Orpheus would prove that he was in contact with Minato, wouldn't it...?

His hand trembled slightly, but he tried to swallow his fear as he raised the gun and pressed it against his temple. He was gripping it tightly, but the finger on the trigger refused to budge. I could only watch...but the truth was, I didn't want him to pull the trigger. And the fact that he didn't want to either was very, very obvious.

"Why are you hesitating?" Mitsuru asked, her otherwise calm voice edged with anxiety.

He didn't look at her. "...What kind of person puts a gun to their head and pulls the trigger?" Seta asked slowly. "I understand why it has to be like this, but it makes it that much harder."

She was glaring daggers at him. "Are you strong enough?"

"I've done it before." He was staring down the hallway, and I wondered if he was thinking about the stains on the wall... He closed his eyes once more and braced himself again. He held his breath and began to press down on the trigger. It was like time froze in that moment...

A sudden ring snapped us all out of our trance. Mitsuru flinched and whipped around, and the evoker fell from Seta's hand and hit the floor with sharp clack. I swear, I started so badly that I would've fallen over if I hadn't already been on the floor. Mitsuru glared at the source of the noise: Seta's phone. He let out a frustrated sigh of his own and shakily made his way over to it. I thought, for a moment, that he may've been trembling too badly to hit the call button, but he managed to, and he pressed the phone to his ear. He tried to control his breathing so it didn't sound like he was about to have a heart attack.

"Hello?" A pause. "Yes." Silence filled the air as the person on the other side spoke. I could tell something was wrong almost immediately. His muscles grew tense, and his breath caught in his throat. His eyes grew wide, and he stumbled backwards and had to use the wall to move himself to sitting without collapsing. Mitsuru blinked, seeming concerned. He was quiet, with only an occasional sound of affirmation, and he slowly hung his head, covering his mouth with one hand.

"...Is he alright...?" Mitsuru asked, confused.

I shook my head, slowly getting to my feet. Whatever the other speaker was saying, I could tell it was far from 'alright'.

"...I understand. Yes...The number's already in the system," he finally choked out. "...Yes..." His voice was strangled, and the words seemed almost painful to say. "...Okay. Y-Yes..." He shook his head, whether to a comment on the phone or to himself, it was hard to say. "Goodbye." He pressed the end button and pulled his knees into his chest, the shaking somehow even worse than it had been minutes before. Mitsuru said nothing. Whatever had been said, she was a stranger, and it wasn't her place to ask what had occurred. It was mine.

"...What happened, Seta?" I asked quietly.

"...It...T...That...that was the hospital." He only barely looked up, but the tears in his eyes were obvious. "...M-My mom...she...she died..."

"...I should go." Mitsuru stood up and picked her gun up off the ground, slipping it back into her shoulder bag. She left a card with her cell phone number and her e-mail address on the table. She scribbled her personal e-mail on the back. As she walked by, she carefully picked up the phone and put it back on the receiver. She headed for the door and stopped, gripping the handle.

"...My condolences for your loss." And with that, she was gone.


	10. The Fight

_Wednesday, August 1, 2012, 11:51 PM_

* * *

...  
...

I wondered if I should be welcoming the silence or despising it. If it was quiet, maybe I'd have less to think about. But that would only leave me with my mother's death to think about.

I'd visited the hospital soon after the call. I'd gone alone. Said what I had to.

What I said to her was 'sorry'.

Because I would never fully shake the feeling that her death was my fault.

I wondered what dad would think when he woke up.

...He'd wake up. He had to...

I wasn't sure what I'd do if I lost them both because I wasn't strong enough.

I'd spoken to Dojima. My mother was his sister, after all. He was in shock as well. He'd asked if I was okay, but I'd tried to brush it off. The news had hit him hard, and I wasn't going to let him try to support me. I wanted to say something, but there really wasn't anything I could think of. I was still completely exhausted, but I somehow felt like I would never sleep again. At least never feel rested again.

I'd have cut my hand open on something if I'd tried to cook, so I'd somehow ordered takeout. The guy on the other line must've thought he was talking to a machine. I still wasn't sure what the point was. I hadn't touched anything. I wasn't hungry.

Despite that bet we'd made not really working in either direction, Yosuke had paid for dinner, and refused to let me do so. Otherwise, though, we hadn't really exchanged a word since the call. I was afraid of crying in front of him. I wondered if I should leave the room. Find somewhere else to let it out.

It was getting late. It would be the Dark Hour soon. In five minutes, or so. I didn't care. There'd be a Dark Hour tonight, and probably every night until we solved this. I didn't feel like dealing with it now.

"So...um..."

I glanced up at Yosuke. What was it?

"...You really should eat something."

"Not hungry." I stared at my feet. With the way my stomach felt, I'd probably throw up, anyway.

"What was it called...The Dark Hour? That's in a few minutes..."

"So what?"

"What do you mean, 'so what?'" His tone was a bit incredulous.

"There'll be a lot more of them. I don't particularly care about this one."

"Don't care...?" Several moments passed before he finally sighed. "...Talk to me, man."

"What's there to talk about?"

"...Listen. I know this is hard...really, really hard...but-"

"But what?" I couldn't look at him. "I can't do this right now. That's all there is to it." I was too afraid to say what was on my mind. That I was scared to fight again, after that...If I hadn't summoned Thanatos, maybe my mother would still be...

"...I'm not sure if it matters if you can or can't do it. It's still coming, isn't it?"

"I'll sleep through it."

"It's in three minutes, dude."

I looked away, turning my gaze towards the window.

"...Say something."

"Like what? What do you want to hear...?!" My voice was trembling a little. "I don't have anything to say. It's not like my parents and I were close. It'll pass."

"_Bullshit._"

I couldn't look at him.

"I know that's bullshit, and you know that's bullshit. I can see through it, and I won't have it." He sighed. "Besides, denying it isn't going to fix it."

"I'll deal with it later."

"What, on your own? Is that what you're saying?" he said, sounding frustrated. "What do you think I came out here for?" He took a deep breath. "Let me make this extremely clear: _death sucks_. But you're only hurting yourself if you continue to handle it this way."

"Handle it what way?" I asked darkly.

"You think I don't know what's going on?" He shook his head. "You told me that you put them in the hospital. Do you feel like _you_ killed her, as well?"

…I hate being transparent.

I stood up and turned away from him.

"Where the hell are you going?" Yosuke asked.

"Leave me alone." I started for my room, and he grabbed my wrist. "_Don't touch me!_" I pulled away, trembling slightly. His eyes were pained, and I started down the hall.

"Wait!"

I bolted into my room and grabbed the door, slamming it as hard as I could. I didn't realize Yosuke had put his fingers against the frame before it was too late.

I heard a rather jarring crack, and he cried out, pulling his hand away. "_F***!_"

I released the door and staggered backwards.

Did I just...?!

I'm sorry...

I'm so sorry...!

I just...!

The lamp went out outside. The moonlight filtering through the window began to turn green, and everything fell very, very still. I simply stared at the door, slightly ajar. I had a million different ways to apologize running through my head. Not one would come out.

"...Are you okay?" I asked feebly, my voice barely a whisper.

"...Yeah. Forget about it. Can I come in?"

"...Mm...mmhmm..."

The door slowly opened, and he stepped inside. It looked like I may've dislocated one of his fingers, and I was sure there would be bruises on the others by tomorrow. I dropped my gaze to my feet and slowly grabbed his shoulder, half dragging him to the bathroom and sticking his hand in the sink, turning on the cold water. We were out of ice packs, thanks to my fever. I wasn't 100% sure if the water would even come on, thanks to the Dark Hour. It did, and began to pour a torrent of blood onto his hand. He was quick to turn his gaze towards anything _but_ the sink, and I spoke up to distract him.

"...You're right about how I feel," I admitted dully. "Completely and totally right. And it sucks."

"...I'm not sure how I can help," he muttered. "All I can do is be there."

"That's going to have to be enough," I whispered, quickly turning off the 'water' and grabbing a towel.

That's when we heard a crash outside. We both exchanged glances.

"Shadows," I whispered. "Let's go."

I didn't want to fight, but Yosuke was right: It didn't matter if I wasn't up for it. They were here, and unless I wanted somebody to get hurt, we'd have to take them out. I pulled open the drawer and reached for the evoker, despite the fact that just looking at it now made me think of that night, and the phone call...I swallowed my fear and took it, hurrying out into the living room.

There were two Mushas standing in front of the TV. We'd arrived just as they were about to shatter the screen, and our presence distracted them enough for us to make our first move. Yosuke had dived for his bag and was digging through it, presumably looking for his kunai. It seemed the hand of his I'd accidentally crushed was his non-dominant hand. I guess if I had anything even resembling 'luck' at this point...

I raised the evoker to my temple and squeezed my eyes shut. I couldn't see my Persona. All I could see was my leg being run through. My mother hitting her head against the living room table. My father throwing himself against one of the Shadows in an attempt to reach the door. Both of their blood staining the walls.

"I can't do it...!" I whispered.

Yosuke whipped around. "Get it together!" he shouted.

I had to summon something...I had to fight..._damnit...!_ I wasn't concentrating on a Persona, just on a skill: Mabufudyne. I pulled the trigger without thinking much more. If I thought too much, I'd hesitate too long.

Big mistake.

Without a Persona in mind, I wasn't able to summon it outside of myself. Mabufudyne did go off, but it was concentrated inside my body. Cold spiked through my very being, and I lost control of the entire attack. Ice exploded out in all directions, and the evoker fell from my hands and to the ground. I shuddered and dropped to my knees, holding back a scream. In the distance, I heard Yosuke yell my name, but it was cut short as the attack went in his direction.

_'Seta-!'_

Without any further warning, there was an intense, shattering pain in my ribcage, radiating outwards from my chest. I doubled over and screamed, Death flooding through my mind, Thanatos taking form. I tried to shove him away, but by that point, any hold I had over my thoughts, my Persona, and ultimately, the situation, had vanished. Thanatos tore himself from my mind and let out an inhuman cry.

"Shi-!" I heard Yosuke choke out. I could hardly see through the series of flashing lights and red sparks that were tearing through my vision, but I managed to see him take off for my room and slam the door behind him just as a dark purple began to rise from the ground. Moments later, there was a brief explosion. One Musha was gone, the other was on the floor. Thanatos ran it through the stomach with his sword, and it disappeared into a cloud of black dust.

The only reason the apartment complex was intact, I assumed, was because it wasn't alive.

He started for the door to my room, and I forced myself to my feet, quickly grabbing the evoker on my way by and putting myself in front of him. "Stop!" I shouted.

He looked at me as if I were simply a bug, and he grabbed my arm and attempted to shove me aside. I grabbed one of the chains draped across his shoulder and pulled him with me. He forced me into the wall and wrapped a free hand around my throat. I glared back at him, despite the fact I couldn't breathe. He kept at it until the evoker fell from my hand, too weak to keep a firm grip. Slowly, he released me. I thought it was over, but instead, he abruptly spun around and ran his sword through my door. There was the loud sound of the splintering wood, but what I found more disconcerting was the burst of blood that came through when the sword was pulled back.

"_Yosuke!_" Was he...?! No..._No...!_

I started forward, only for flame to burst open in my mind and pour into my blood. What was going on at the seal...?!

I staggered forward, regardless of my condition, and grabbed his arm as he pulled his sword backwards, preparing for a second blow. "_Don't kill anyone else!_" I begged. "_Please!_"

He flung his arm back, the sword raking across my already injured leg, and instinctively, I grabbed the sharp weapon in my hands. I could feel it cut through my palms, and before it could cut my upper hand off, I tried to pull the Persona back into my mind. It worked for all of a second, long enough for him to drop the blade so I could throw it aside. The blade vanished, and I put myself between Thanatos and the door. I felt like I was choking on something with every gasp for breath. I glanced over my shoulder through the hole in the door. What if Yosuke had just been stabbed through the head or chest right now? I couldn't lose him...I couldn't have his death on my hands...I...

"You're not going in there," I hissed.

Now free of a sword, he grabbed my neck in both of his hands. I wasn't sure what stopped him from tearing my head off right there. Perhaps the fact that I'd summoned him, and if I died, he would vanish with me. That didn't stop him from strangling me until my vision got hazier, and my mind grew cloudy. I tried desperately to breathe, only for his grip to tighten with every attempt.

I barely recognized the flash of steel that suddenly burst through the hole in the door...my sword...? It grazed past my ear, leaving a very thin cut. The same could not be said for Thanatos, who ended up with the weapon in his eye socket. At that point, the pain in my eye simply melded in with the rest of the pain I was feeling, and I was actually almost thankful when the vision in it gave out. In its shock, Thanatos released me, and I crumpled to the ground. The sword was pulled back, and the door was pulled open. Yosuke's entire arm was drenched with blood. If Thanatos' sword had been even a few inches off, he would've been run through the throat, but at it stood, the sword had simply wounded his shoulder.

"That's enough, you son of a bitch." He pulled his kunai from his pocket with his good hand and threw it as hard as he could at Thanatos.

It started to enter his gut when the Dark Hour simply ended.

Thanatos vanished before the blade lost its momentum, leaving the kunai lodged in my wall. Yosuke stumbled forward a few paces and dropped to my side. "Seta...!" he gasped, clearly freaking out. My eyesight flickered and faded, leaving nothing but red. My throat felt like it may've been swelling shut, because I still couldn't breathe. My mind was panicking as much as it could in its exhaustion, but it didn't last long before everything began to dull. My lungs screamed for air, but the pleas were drowned by the pain in my ribcage, which in turn ran together with the fire rushing through my veins. It was all too much...

I don't know how I heard or identified it, but I did. A quiet _clack_ as the evoker was picked up off the ground. A shuddering breath.

"I'm not going to lose you now...Hang in there...Persona...!"

...  
...

The outer rims of my vision were still tinged red as I came to. My neck hurt. My leg hurt. My chest hurt. A lot of things hurt, but as the night's events came flooding back, I still shot upright, through the pain. "Yosuke!"

Tears were in my eyes from the agony I was causing myself as I forced myself off what I was quick to realize was the bed. I could hardly walk, and when I rested my hand on my forehead, I realized my fever was back, and worse than it had ever been. I searched for a handhold, but couldn't find one, so I simply stumbled clumsily out of my room and down the hall.

Yosuke was passed out on the couch, a bloody blanket wrapped around his shoulder. He was shivering slightly. It was raining again, so it was colder in here...I quickly made my way over to him and dropped to my knees, grabbing his uninjured arm and giving him a shake, just to see if he could be awoken. He blinked his eyes open. They were a bit hazy. He turned his gaze to me and managed a slight grin, despite everything. "What are you doing, worrying about me? Go back to sleep, you idiot. You need to rest."

"Why didn't you heal yourself, dumbass?!" I yelled.

"...Too worried about you. Couldn't focus on myself."

"Idiot! You goddamn idiot!"

He simply laughed and placed his good hand on my shoulder. "I'm glad you're okay."

I nodded slightly and caught him in a hug. I think he would've normally pushed away, but he either didn't have the strength or simply didn't care. I guess once you've both nearly died, you have other things to worry about than PDA.

"I thought it'd killed you..." I admitted, my voice shaking.

"I thought you were dead, too." He sounded exhausted. "Nearly lost you. Using an evoker sucks."

"Yeah..." I choked out.

"...Truth is, even if I died, I'd still come back and help you figure this out anyway."

I didn't ask how, or why, I simply rested my head against the couch and cried. We were quiet for a while, simply taking in the fact that we were both alive. Finally, he sat himself up. "Do you need something?" I asked quietly, rubbing my eyes dry before I looked at him.

"I was actually going to force you to lie down and get you some ice."

"...Don't be stupid." But I still smirked. "I'll get us both some water."

He would've protested, but I was gone before he could. I dropped both bottles on the table before collapsing on the floor into a small pile of blankets.

"...You should probably go back to bed," Yosuke admitted.

"I'm happier here."

"...If you say so." And with that, we both drifted off back to sleep.


	11. The Revelation

_Saturday, August 4, 2012, 12:33 PM_

* * *

I was a little late to our meeting at the Junes table. The work at the inn had kept me for a lot longer than I'd intended. Everyone was already waiting for me.

"Yukiko!" Chie called, waving. "Glad you made it!"

"I was worried you weren't going to show!" Teddie whimpered.

"Sorry!" I apologized quickly, scrambling over to our secret headquarters. (Yes, I still think of this spot that way.) "The inn's completely packed...I just managed to slip out."

"If you had a lot of work to do, we would've understood," Kanji said.

"I do have a lot of work to do, but that means I have to take a break every now and again." I smiled easily.

"Well, we're glad you're here," Naoto said calmly.

Rise nodded enthusiastically. Nanako was sitting beside Naoto, but she was unusually quiet. She was staring at her lap, twiddling her thumbs. It wasn't like her...

"Hello, Nanako-chan."

"Huh? O-Oh! H-Hi!"

...Something was very wrong.

"Are you alright, Nanako-chan?"

She nodded slightly, looking back at her feet. I pushed forward. "You seem sad. Did something happen?"

She bit her lip. "Dad's been really upset, and I don't know how to fix it. I've been trying to make him smile, but nothing's working..."

I frowned. "Oh...I see. Do you know why?"

She gave a slight nod. "Apparently, his sister died. It was really sudden...He said he just needed time, but I'm really worried..."

I thought for a moment. "It does take time," I said gently. "But I'm sure he appreciates what you're doing a lot."

"Yeah. Just keep letting him know you're there," Rise said with a nod. "Maybe a little later, in a few months, you two can talk about it together."

She seemed a little uncertain. "Death's a complicated thing," Kanji said with a sigh. "But he'll be okay. Your dad's pretty tough."

"Did Nana-chan know Dojima-san's sister?" Teddie asked.

She shook her head. "We never met..."

"...Wait." Naoto's voice was very, very quiet. "_Wait._ His sister? Do you know which sister...?!"

"H-Huh? H-He only had one sister..."

"What's the matter, Naoto-kun?" Kanji asked. I was confused myself. The look on her face was beginning to worry me. She seemed to be in shock.

"...Has anyone been able to reach Seta-senpai...?" she slowly asked.

That statement took a moment to sink in, but when it did, it hit me like I'd been slapped across the face.

Oh, god.

"Wait a minute!" Rise yelped, horror on her face. "Aren't we jumping to conclusions here...?! If something had happened, wouldn't he have let us know?!"

"We can ask questions like that later!" Chie cried. "Yukiko, can you give him a call...?!" She glanced at me, and I nodded, fumbling through my pocket for my cell.

"What's going on...?" Nanako whimpered, having not yet made the connection.

Teddie put a hand on her shoulder. "There's no need to worry yet, Nana-chan. Let's go get a soda." He led her off, and we all exchanged glances and let out a quiet sigh of relief. We'd thank him later.

I dialled and waited for a moment. It rang once...twice...three times...there was a click.

_"Hello?"_ The voice on the other end was Seta's. There was an unusual level of stoicism in it, like he was trying to be professional.

"Hello? It's me, Yukiko."

He sighed in unmistakable relief. _"Thank god."_

_'Who is it?'_ I heard a second voice, Yosuke's, ask in the distance.

_"Yukiko-san. What's up? Are you guys all together?"_ he asked, his voice calm once more, though there seemed to be a weight to it.

"Yeah, we're all here. Are you still feverish?"

_"I'm afraid so. Just slept through yesterday. It's been rough."_

"Sounds like it. Has Yosuke been looking after you? I can't imagine he's a good doctor, but-"

_"Yeah, he's been looking out for me, but he injured his arm, so he's had to take it easy himself."_

"...How did he manage to pull that off?" I asked incredulously.

_"...It's a long, long story, and not one I feel like going into right now. It involves samurai, a few swords, property destruction..."_

"What have you two been doing...?!" The others were looking at me funny.

_"Sleeping?"_ His voice was tentative.

I bit my lip. Maybe I'd save this for later... "I was actually calling to ask you something...we just heard something from Nanako-chan, and we needed to hear the answer from you."

_"What is it...?"_ his voice was cautious. I heard a beep as he put the phone on speaker so Yosuke could hear. Yosuke would have to know too, wouldn't he...?

"...Nanako-chan told us that Dojima-san's been really upset. Apparently, his sister died." Silence followed that statement. "...Do you know anything, Seta-kun?" More silence. "...Seta, are you alright over there...? Your mother..."

_"...She died three days ago in the hospital. I'm sorry. I don't want to talk about it."_

The others were looking at me, and I slowly nodded. "I understand. You have to know that we're here to talk to, if you need it...It must be hard on you..."

_"I haven't really had the chance to think about it much. The fever's made it a bit difficult."_

...Oh, Seta...I shut my eyes. "...I wish I were with you."

_"...I wish you were here, too."_

There was a long silence.

_'You should tell them, you know.'_ Yosuke's voice was hard to hear.

_"I-...! I can't...You could've died the other day!"_

"What?!" What was going on over there?! "Aren't you guys just visiting each other?! What are we missing?!" Silence followed that statement, too. "Seta...!" I pleaded. I was scared. I couldn't say why, but fear was pounding in my chest.

_"...I can't have them involved,"_ Seta whispered, barely audible.

_'Weren't you the one who said we were in over our heads?'_

_"Yeah. Why drag everyone else in over as well?"_ He sounded unusually bitter.

"I want to know...!" I begged. "Please! If there's anything I can do-!"

_"Well, that's the problem."_ I wasn't sure I'd ever heard him so exhausted. _"Because I don't even think we know what we're doing. We don't know how much time we have left, and we don't know what we're looking for. Until we can figure that out, I'd much rather you all stay out of harm's way."_ Silence once more. I didn't know what to say to that.

"...We're your team. Don't forget that, okay? We're here for you. So when you're ready, tell us everything. And if you want, we'll be on the next train over. Just say the word, and we'll be there." My lip was trembling. "You have to know that."

_"...I know...But I'm not sure I can handle another situation like the Thousand Curses."_ ...I'd never heard him mention that again since it happened... _"...If...Yukiko-san, if I die..."_

"Wait, _wait!_" How serious was this?! "Seta, is it really that bad...?!"

_"Maybe."_

...No...no way...what has he been hiding from us all this time...?

"Y-Yosuke-kun! Say something!" I shouted desperately. "You think he should tell us, right?! Then please! Tell me!" It was rude of me to put him on the spot like that, but...I needed answers. Or even just a clue.

_'...Penthesileakirijo.'_

"...What?"

_'...Penthesileakirijo (a)atlus .co .jp. Write that down. If you want to begin anywhere, you should send her an e-mail and tell her you're worried about Seta, and that you're a friend of his. If you're lucky, maybe she'll get back to you.'_

...It was a start. I gestured to a napkin Rise was holding, and she curiously passed it to me. I took out a pen and scribbled it down. Presumably, 'Penthesilea' was spelt right in the address name, and I knew who that was in terms of mythology. I paid attention in class...It was the last name that interested me more than the first. Kirijo? _That_ Kirijo? What did the Kirijo group have to do with this?

"Alright. Thanks." I managed a tired smile. "I'm sorry if I'm being nosy..."

_'No, thank you. Seta needs it-Whoa!'_ There was a dull crash on the other side, and a quiet thunk.

"H-Hey, is everything alright over there?!"

_'...I think Seta needs more rest,'_ Yosuke said awkwardly after a momentary pause. _'We'll call you back later.'_

Geez... "A-Alright. ...You'd better."

_'Yeah. Thanks for the call, Yukiko-san.'_

"W-Wait." A pause. "What happened to your arm?"

I heard him let out a very dull laugh. _'There was Shadow attack. Talk to you later.'_

Shadows...?! Wait, _what?!_ No way...! "Wait!"

But he'd already hung up.


	12. The Healing

_Saturday, August 4, 2012, 12:52 PM_

* * *

"You should've told them something, you know," I scolded. He didn't have the energy to answer. His eyes were shut, and it seemed that I'd lost him again. I sighed, frustrated. I'd been trying to avoid the word, but there was no escaping it: I was completely powerless, and it hurt to know that.

I practically had to drag him to the couch and force him to lie down. I quietly listened to him breathe. Maybe it's a weird thing for me to focus on, but when the strangled chokes and near-silent screams from the other side of the door filled my nightmares...And I also couldn't shake the feeling that it would stop again, like it had over the phone, and on the street.

...There had to be something more I could do.

I headed into the kitchen and pulled out my cell phone and Mitsuru's card. I guess while I was talking, I could apologize for giving out her e-mail. I dialled her number and waited.

_"...Good afternoon."_ Her voice was fairly distinct, so I knew it was her, but I decided to be formal anyway.

"Hello. Is this Mitsuru Kirijo?"

_"Yes. And this is...?"_

"Yosuke Hanamura. I'm Set- Narukami's friend."

_"Yes. Good afternoon."_

"...I-I'm sorry, are you busy?" The thought struck me rather suddenly, and I cringed. "I mean, I never am, so I didn't really think about it-" _Damnit, shut up._

I swear, for a moment, I heard her laugh, but I couldn't be sure. _"No. I'm not busy until later this evening."_

I sighed in relief. "Good...good." There was a slight pause. Right. I called. Might as well get to the point. "Um...I guess I'm calling to try and figure some things out...And I thought you might have the answers."

_"I can't promise that I will, but you may ask if I can ask a few of my own."_

"Y-yeah, of course. Um...in fact, you can start." Why was I so uncomfortable?

_"...If you're certain. I thought you were calling because you may've learned something."_

"Oh...um...no. I managed to use an evoker for the first time, but all that I've really discovered is that throats are very fragile things, there are some very important blood vessels in your arm that should never be severed, and that adrenaline can make you do some really, really reckless shit..." Did I forget who I was talking to?! "Gah, sorry! I really need to watch my mouth...geez..."

_"...Were you in a fight?"_ Mitsuru asked.

"...We were on the receiving end of a slaughter," I sighed heavily, leaning against the counter. "I don't know the details, but when Seta freaks out, this Persona named Thanatos appears-"

_"Thanatos?"_

Her tone said that she knew who I was talking about, and I quickly jumped in. "Yeah. Any idea who he is?"

_"Yes. He is Death personified."_

"...Well, that explains why he tried to cut my head off." I sighed again. "Thanatos is absolutely batshi-...Sorry. He's out of control. Seta can't get him to stop a rampage once he's started."

_"I'd assume only Arisato could. Death dwelled within him for ten years, therefore, he was able to use its powers for his own."_

...'Dwelled within him'...? I decided not to press on that one. "If he can't control it, we're going to have bigger problems than Shadows. Any ideas on what we should do?"

_"I'm afraid not. You should consult Arisato. You said you could, right?"_

I nodded to myself. "Mmhm."

_"...How?"_

"How?"

_"How do you consult him?"_

...Uh...

"I think Seta put it best: I have no idea. Seta...meditates? I think? Some weird combination of meditating and fainting...It's honestly a bit unnerving...And I've only heard him twice, once on the train, once on the couch...He said Social Links were involved, but I don't know much more."

_"...Does Narukami have Social Links like Arisato did?"_

"Yeah. Apparently, they're kind of sharing them now...I don't know how to explain it. Just saying what I was told. Sorry." I sighed. "I'm a bit out of touch. I'm still trying to work things out."

_"...To be fair, I'm not quite up to date myself."_ Judging by her tone, this wasn't common, nor did she like it. _"So please, give me a call if you discover anything. At the moment, I'm currently trying to get my high school team back together...it's a bit difficult. Aigis is currently doing overseas work, and Akihiko is currently in the Canadian Rocky Mountains fighting grizzly bears with his fists...at least, that's what Iori tells me."_ She sounded amused.

...Dude, who the hell was Akihiko? He sounded awesome. I managed to keep myself from saying that out loud.

"Any way I could help?" I offered.

_"...You should get your team together. Narukami said he had one, didn't he? And I assume you're in it. You two seem close."_ ...Close? She could say that again. But if she did, I'd probably feel a bit awkward. _"The more people we have investigating, the better our chances are of solving this."_

I sighed. "About that...Seta doesn't want them involved. He refuses to tell them anything."

_"Why not?"_ But she sounded like she knew.

"...The two of us nearly died the other day. He doesn't want anyone else to get hurt, so he's only going to tell them what they need to know, I guess."

_"I was like that when I was his age..."_ She sighed. _"It's a very dangerous path to take, because you never know exactly what they need to know until it's too late."_

"I gave Yukiko...a member of the team...your e-mail. I know I probably shouldn't have, but I was hoping maybe you could fill them in. You seem to know more than I do, and Seta's being stubborn."

_"I'll do what I can."_

I let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks. I'm really worried about him."

There was a long stretch of silence, and finally, I heard something that caught me off guard: She was laughing. Not mean spiritedly, just...happily. _"You really do remind me of several people I know...Thank you."_

...Why was she _thanking_ me...? As soon as the shock of it wore off, though, I was pretty sure I knew why. "...Yeah. I hope...Akihiko-san comes back from Canada soon...or something..."

She gave a light breath of amusement. _"Yes. I'm sure he will. And once we've gathered everyone, I'll make sure you meet them."_ I opened my mouth to speak, but she beat me to it. _"That reminds me. I've picked up something important on the Dark Hour. It's not leaving Tatsumi Port Island."_

"What do you mean?" I asked.

_"It doesn't exist outside of the area...Outside of the fog. I had a few people test it for me, and it's not happening anywhere outside the foggy regions of the city."_

...What was the importance of the fog this time?

"Last time I saw this much fog, it was bad news. When you hear from Yukiko, you should ask her and the others to investigate the other side. I would, but it's not safe to enter the TV from where we are."

_"Should I save my questions about this 'other side' for her?"_

I thought for a moment before answering. "Yeah. She's probably better with words than me, so it might be best that way." There was a long silence, and finally, I muttered, "...Anything else?"

_"...How is Narukami?"_

"Huh? What do you mean?"

_"...He was very distressed when I left. ...I lost my father when I was his age, so I empathize. I just wanted to make sure he was holding up."_

...It hadn't hit me that Mitsuru was...well, a human being, I guess, until she said that. I'd seen her more as an authority figure, a higher up...

"Not great. But he hasn't had much time to mourn properly since he's been fighting a high fever and a few mental assaults. Being connected to Minato-san hasn't been good for his health."

_"..."_ She thought about that for a moment. _"I'm not sure a human body was made to stand assaults from a being like Erebus, nor whatever second beast you mentioned."_

"No kidding. I swear a few of his ribs are broken, and I don't know how it happened. It's like he's caving in on himself." And the truth was that this scared me.

_"...I know someone who may be able to help. She was our team medic. I'm not sure if it'll do much, but I can call her and ask her to assist you."_

I moved to the doorway and glanced over at Seta, silently fighting for his life on the couch. "I'll take any help I can get," I said softly.

_"I can have her there in an hour, if you'd like."_

That fast...? "I-If it's not interrupting anything..."

_"I don't think so. I'll ask her."_

I nodded to myself. "Thank you."

There was an unfamiliar voice on the other end, to which Mitsuru responded before getting back to me. _"I'm afraid I have to get going. Thank you for the call."_ I imagined that she was a busy woman...

"Yeah. Let me know if anything comes up."

_"You too. Goodbye."_

"Seeya." I ended the call and lowered the phone, glancing at the front door. I wondered who this medic was. I really hoped she could help us...help him. Because we were struggling.

I hung up the phone and headed for Seta's room before going to the bathroom, removing the bandages from my bloody shoulder. It was beginning to ooze who knew what, and hurt to move even slightly. I took a wet cloth and tried to clean it again, which always ended up with me trying not to scream and swear so badly that Kanji would be impressed. It was what I'd loosely call 'luck' that my injured arm and my injured fingers had both been on my non-dominant side. Otherwise, the whole thing would've been that much harder.

One of my fingers was broken, or at least dislocated, and there was a lot of swelling, making them hard to move. What a pain...I sighed out loud to myself and began to reapply clean bandages. We'd be out of them soon. With how useless my arm felt, I knew we should probably both be going to the hospital, but what would we tell them? That a couple of samurai broke the door down during a secret hour no one could see? Yeah, right. Seta and I'd had a hard enough time trying to explain to the people in the lobby what had happened to the front door. (They'd managed to call in people to replace it yesterday. We'd slept despite the noise, which, ironically, probably meant we were the only people on that floor who'd gotten any sleep that morning.)

When Seta's phone rang about forty five minutes later, I picked it up. "Hello?"

_"Hello. Um...I'm Mitsuru's friend. Could you call the front desk and tell them to let me and...um...my 'doll' in?"_ Her doll...? _"They keep saying no, because he's from outside, but it's kind of important..."_

"Alright. Just give me a moment..." I wasn't exactly sure how to go about it, so I simply told them that she was there to help us fix the second broken door and that her doll was for stress relief, even though I had no idea what it looked like or what it was of, for that matter. Apparently, it worked, because a few minutes later, there was a knock at the door, and I opened it.

The woman standing before me was...um...well. She was pretty. I guess that was the word I was looking for. She had brown hair slightly below her shoulders, and wore a low cut, pink, long sleeved shirt with a thin white overshirt. Her shorts, which were a bit too short for the weather, were white. In her arms, she carried her 'doll', which was actually pretty massive for a doll...it was of a white dog with red eyes, and it hung rather limply. I'd never seen a more realistic looking 'doll', but it wasn't budging, so...

"Good afternoon." She smiled tentatively. "Are you Yosuke Hanamura or Seta Narukami...?"

"H-Hanamura." Why was I blushing...? "C-Come in..." I quickly turned away.

"Hey, no need to blush." She seemed more flattered than she did embarrassed. She stepped inside, shutting the door with her foot. "My name is Yukari Takeba. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." I glanced over my shoulder. "That's...um...a really big doll."

"Oh? Oh. Yeah. I guess...It's not really a doll though."

"Yeah, seems too big for that label..."

"No, not even that. This is Koromaru, and he's playing dead."

...It was alive...?! I knew it was realistic, but holy crap...! How well trained was he?!

"Are either of you allergic? He's been with Fuuka-a friend of mine-for quite a bit, and it was my turn to see him, so I didn't want to leave him...I hope that's okay."

"I-It's fine. Seta's more of a cat person, but I think he likes dogs, too."

She nodded. "Alright. They said they didn't allow outside pets...It's stupid, because I heard a dog barking on my way up the elevator. Ridiculous...Good boy, Koro. It's safe now." Just like that, the red eyed dog lifted its head and licked her face, wagging its tail. She giggled and put him down. "Alright, I know what I'm here for. Let's see the damage. We can start with you."

I shook my head. "I don't think we should..." I muttered, shooting a glance at the couch. "We should start with Seta. How much did Kirijo-san tell you?"

"Mitsuru's told me about a few things..." She fell quiet. "She told me that Seta's in touch with Minato..." Her voice was trembling... "M-Minato was my boyfriend."

...Oh. Oh, ouch.

"I-I'm sorry...I-I've spoken to him, he seems nice..." ...IDIOT.

"You've spoken to him...?!" Her eyes grew wide. "Is he okay...?"

"I think so. He's...he's a badass. That's for sure." I was remembering him blowing up the demon hellspawns as I said it. And then I realized that I was talking to my senpai. Again. What was wrong with me today?! "When did I get so informal?! Agh, I'm sorry..."

"No, no, it's okay." She smiled easily. "C'mon, take a seat. Mitsuru said it was your shoulder...?"

"Y-Yeah." I decided not to protest, and I took a seat in the rolling chair. She sat at the dinner table next to me.

...I was very, very uncomfortable taking off my jacket in front of her. I couldn't say why. Taking off my jacket should not feel like stripping. I felt unclean. But she didn't seem to notice my discomfort. It may've had something to do with the fact that the shirt I was wearing revealed my arms, but I'd only chosen to wear that because I didn't want anything else rubbing up against the bandages, and the jacket was because it was too damn cold in here. Though to be honest, I was sweating for some reason now...She placed her hand against my elbow. I flinched.

_WHY WAS I SO UNCOMFORTABLE?!_

"Does it hurt?" she asked.

"N-No." I looked out the window, my face heating up. "I-I mean, yeah, but not because you're touching it." ..._Damnit!_

She smirked. "You're so cute."

"Please don't say that..." I begged quietly.

She chuckled. "Alright, I'm going to take off the bandages. Let me know if it stings. I'll try to be careful."

It did sting, but I'd be damned if I said so. She eventually said something to break the silence. "...You know, Koro-chan's been staring at the fridge since we got here...Is everything alright, Koro-chan?"

"Grr..."

"The fridge is evil," I said, finally finding my voice. "Don't mind it too much."

"Evil...?" She seemed confused, but decided not to press for details. Her eyes narrowed as she finally finished removing the bandages, exposing the run through arm. She bit her lip. "What caused this?"

"...There's this Persona called Thanatos...do you know of him?"

She winced. "Yeah. I know of him. He was Minato's."

"Seta couldn't control him, so...I guess being Death...he decided to kill everything. Including me. It was rough."

She nodded. "I can imagine...can you move it?"

I shook my head. "No."

She nodded slightly, slowly taking my wrist and lifting my hand. "And here?"

"...Seta and I had a slight argument. He tried to slam the door on me, and I put my fingers in the doorway without thinking."

She cringed. "Oh, ouch...what were you fighting about?"

"Fighting may be the wrong word...Thanatos put both of his parents in the hospital, and one of them passed away...I guess I just said what he didn't want to hear: That he felt responsible for it."

She frowned. "Oh...that must be hard for him."

"It is. I can't imagine how that must be affecting his nightmares, especially with his fever..."

She nodded her agreement before reaching into her pocket and pulling out an evoker. "By the way, if you've found a way to summon your Persona without an evoker, I'd really like to learn how sometime." She managed a wry smile before she placed it to her forehead and pulled the trigger. Her Persona appeared behind her. It looked like the upper half of a woman draped in a large cloak, with wings and a huge gemstone between two horns on its forehead. It was kind of weird, but...well, my Persona was a red and blue blade ringed...thing, with fire hair, so who was I to complain?

Energy began to swirl around my arm, and I was amazed by how quickly it felt better. The swelling and bruising in my hand began to mend itself, and the pain throbbing in my shoulder began to fade. I could practically feel the internal damage beginning to heal. It stopped after maybe five to ten seconds, which was more than I'd ever been able to pull off. "...Wow." I laughed easily. "That's awesome!"

"Thank you." She grinned. "I've had a few years of practice. I can work miracles at the hospital when no one's looking, sometimes."

"The hospital?"

"Yeah. When I'm not designing, or studying, I'm volunteering at the hospital. I guess I have a knack for it. I never would've thought so when I was in high school." She smiled. "So, where's Seta? Is he in his room?"

I blinked and hit the couch behind me with my hand. "Right there."

"...He's on the couch? I didn't even notice..." She stood up, and I quickly grabbed my jacket. "Oh, hold on, let me reapply the bandages...you should take it easy for a few days. Hopefully, there won't be any permanent damage..." She reached into her bag, having apparently thought to bring her own, and wrapped the injury back up. "When it gets better, make sure it gets some air." She handed me my jacket, but blinked. "...What's in the pockets?"

"Huh? Oh. Kunai." _...Sorry, wrong answer?_

She raised an eyebrow.

"I fight with knives," I clarified. "Or daggers, or anything about that size, really."

It clicked, and she nodded. "Right! I was an archer when I fought. I might be a bit rusty...I should work some practice into my schedule."

She stood up and walked around the couch. I'd forgotten to mention that, again, Seta was without a shirt. Too warm, I guess, not to mention that I'd woken up to find the one he was wearing soaked in blood yesterday morning. I'd tried to heal it, but I was nowhere near as good as Yukari, so there was still a ragged scar amongst the many bruises.

To say she looked alarmed would be understating it. "Oh...oh wow..." She bit her lip. She got to her knees, and I crouched down beside her as well. "Mitsuru told me the story, but I guess I didn't realize just how severe it was..."

I shook my head. "I don't think she knows, either. He had a fever when she visited, but he covered it up very well." I sighed, not wanting to say it, but feeling she should know. "If his condition is bad, it's probably because Minato-san's struggling."

She tensed. "He gave up his life so we could continue living...we have to help him somehow..." She looked distressed.

I hesitated before I put my hand on her shoulder, and she looked up at me. "We will," I said. "We are. Don't worry about him."

She slowly nodded. "...Yeah..." She sighed. "It's just been so long... thought...I thought I'd never really hear from him again...and I thought, you know, it'd be better if we didn't, but I really wanted to...I'm so selfish..." She hung her head.

"...It's only natural. I'd give up a lot to have one more word with somebody I knew once." I'd do anything to wrap up the loose ends Saki-senpai left me with..._pain in the ass_...it still hurts, sometimes... "I'm sure Seta would be happy to reach Minato-san for you, if it means that much to you."

"It does..." She looked about ready to cry. "He died before I got the chance..." I squeezed her shoulder. "I know he won't come back, but to at least know he heard me...Maybe I'd finally be able to keep moving forward without one foot still slightly in the past..."

"Then we'll have it arranged," I said, releasing her shoulder. "But...um...Seta needs some help first."

She nodded. "I wonder if my reasons for being here today are selfish...it's not like I came here with speaking to him in mind...Mitsuru just asked me to..."

"Hey, no worries. You should be more comfortable with yourself." ...Why was I telling her that? She was older than me. But I grinned anyway. "After all, having a Persona has a lot to do with being comfortable with who you are." And before I could stop myself, I said something completely idiotic. "Selfish or not, I can't say, but you've got a lot going for you. You're smart, you're kind, you're beautifu-...Damnit, did I say that out loud? I need water."

I stood up and took off for the kitchen before she could comment. I didn't grab water, though; instead, I went straight to the sink and splashed my face. Why was I complimenting her like that when she was beside me mourning her dead boyfriend?! I felt like an asshole.

I was jolted out of my thoughts when she screamed in alarm. I jumped and bolted back into the living room, in time to hear a sound that I was only just beginning to identify with: the sudden crunch of bones and tearing of skin.

"Seta!" I grabbed the evoker from the table and fell to my knees at the side of the couch. His face was contorted with pain, and he was shuddering with agony as a large open wound began tear through his chest, a rib bursting outwards, blood splattering onto the couch. Oh, man...I put the evoker to my head and pressed down on the trigger. "Susano-O!"

A burst of silver light went off behind my eyes, and I felt a sharp pain cut through my mind, into my brain, and out the other side. For a moment, I felt like the world was fading to black. It was all imagined, of course, and when I opened my eyes again, Susano-O was behind me, trying to heal, despite the fact I was no good at it. No matter how much I tried, I just couldn't do enough...

"Let me help you. Isis!"

...Isis? That name sounded familiar...

As her Persona began to materialize, Seta's mouth moved. _"Per...so...na..."_

A card glowed by his chest before bursting into light, revealing a humanoid woman with gold feathered arms, white and purple clothes, a headpiece, and a mask. I recognized her...no wonder the name was familiar...

She stepped forward and crouched down in front of Yukari. She shot a glance at me, and I shrugged. "I'm not sure. Seta has Isis, as well..."

She seemed baffled, but she held out her hand. Isis brushed her wings against her palm. Both of them glowed for a moment, before Yukari shut her eyes. "...It's got a different skill set..." she murmured under her breath. "...Think we can share?"

Seta, somehow, despite what he was going through, actually smiled. "Sure."

The floor beneath us glowed with a blue light before intermingling with yellow. It was blinding for a moment before it all simply vanished, and Yukari nodded. "Hang in there."

Seta's new wound began to knit itself back together, the bone melting back into its spot. I watched as the bruises began to fade, and his shallow breathing began to steady out, if just a bit. She seemed to be trying to do her best to mend every little bit of damage, and she tried until she flat out collapsed on the floor. Koromaru let out a bark of alarm and pelted down the hall, crouching down in front of her and sniffing her face. She laughed quietly. "I'm alright...Just a bit tired."

I scratched the worried dog behind the ears. "You're amazing, Yukari-san."

She managed a feeble smile. "I try my best..."

"Here, let me help you up." I offered her my hand.

She took it, and I pulled her to her feet, assisting her to the opposite couch. "Thank you so much. I'm feeling better already, and I'm sure Seta does, too." I glanced at him. He seemed more peaceful, at least. "Anything I can do for you while you're here?"

"I could use some water..." she said quietly.

I nodded and headed for the kitchen, returning with a bottle and a few more mental scars from having to open the fridge. She took it and downed the whole thing in one go. She seemed exhausted. I was pretty tired myself, so I sat beside her. "Um...I'm sorry if I've said anything that made you uncomfortable," I mumbled quickly.

"Huh? Oh, not at all." She smiled slightly. "I'm better about that than I used to be."

'That'? I found myself blushing slightly. "I'm clearly not."

She laughed. I tried to laugh along.

"You're pretty cute yourself."

...That was _not_ what I'd expected her to say. I stared at her in complete shock.

"You also seem to have loyalty and determination that rivals Koro here. It'll get you far, I promise."

I was blushing so hard I thought I might explode. "Um...thank you." I looked out the window, at the fog. "...I'm not going home until I get to the bottom of this."

"You don't live here?" She seemed surprised.

I glanced at her. "What, did you think Seta and I lived togeth-" ...Oh. "...Don't answer that."

"Sorry." She seemed embarrassed. "I thought you were living here until his parents came back."

"I guess you could call it that." I shrugged. "But...I'm not sure what he'll do if his father..." I didn't want to finish that statement with Seta on the other couch across from us. "...Maybe he'll be allowed to stay in Inaba again for a while, with his uncle and cousin. I'm not sure what the plan is, for now, other than 'figure this out'."

"One step at a time, right?" She shrugged. "They always tell you to plan ahead, but when things get rough, it's easier to take it slow. Organize your thoughts before you rush in headlong and do something stupid." She smiled slightly. "I have a friend who's all about running headlong into brick walls." She shook her head, laughing. "Stupei..."

Stupei...? Before I could ask, though...

"Yu..." I looked up. Seta's eyes were half shut. "Yukari..."

Yukari seemed surprised. Had Seta heard her name...? When? He seemed too out of it to hear much...

"Yukari...Minato keeps calling for you..."

"What...?!" Her eyes were wide. She looked like she might be going into shock for a moment. "M-Minato...? ...A-Are you serious...?!"

"Yeah...He detected you when we shared Personas...He really wants to hear your voice..."

She looked about ready to cry. "Minato...!"

She stood up and nearly collapsed again. I grabbed her shoulder. "Take it easy...!" I urged. She was shaking. "You really should sit..."

She glanced at me. "You have to understand...that I lost him really suddenly two years ago...I never thought this would happen..."

I couldn't understand, but I could try. I got to my feet and helped her over to him, instead. She sat down at the table beside Seta. "Are you reaching him? Or can you just hear him?" I asked.

"Hear him. I wouldn't be speaking if we were communicating properly."

"Dude, have you been conscious since Yukari-san got here?" I thought he'd lost consciousness when he'd passed out on the phone. I thought I'd had to wake him up when Yukiko called.

"I've been conscious since my torso burst open at one this morning. Never lost it."

..._Damn._ Sounds like my worst nightmare. Right up there with that Erebus thing.

"Yukari." He held out his hand. She seemed reluctant, but she took it. I could see an Arcana card hovering above their hands, and for a moment, there was silence. I slowly began to realize I was the only one hearing silence. Yukari's free hand covered her mouth, and she began to cry, sobbing uncontrollably, occasionally nodding or shaking her head and murmuring things I couldn't hear under her breath. A few times, I heard her breathe, "Oh my god..." and before Seta let go, I heard her whisper, "I love you." He let his arm fall to the side of the couch, and she buried her face in her hands. Feeling sympathetic and more than slightly awkward, I went to get her a tissue. Koromaru padded over to him and began to lick Seta's hand. He instinctively scratched him behind the ears, and the dog let out a contented squeak.

I ended up getting Yukari an entire box of tissues. She sort of needed it. It was hard to say whether she was happy, or sad, or both, but when she finally recollected herself, her eyes were filled with determination. "We'll fight for him. He'll be able to sleep peacefully soon enough." She looked up at me, then at Seta. "Thank you so much. I needed that, but thought I may never get it...Miracles do happen." She smiled and rubbed her eyes again. "Minato still manages to surprise me, even years after he died..." I was glad that we could at least do something for her.

"He seems to be that kind of guy," I said with a slight laugh.

She nodded. "You have no idea." She slowly stood up. "Well, I suppose I should get going..." But I could tell she didn't want to. I wasn't sure what made her reluctant, but it was probably the newfound connection to Minato. "C'mon, Koro."

But maybe not, because Koromaru whimpered. He didn't seem to want to leave either.

"You're free to stay for dinner, if you'd like," I offered tentatively.

"I'm paying," Seta said bluntly. "You keep paying, so it's my turn. You're a guest at my house. You keep forgetting that."

I smirked, amused. "You can pay for the meal if you can walk to the door."

He glared dully at me, then glanced at Yukari again. "You're free to stay for the evening, if you'd like, Takeba-san. It's the least I can do to thank you," he said slowly.

"Believe me, you've done more than enough." She grinned. "...That's it! I'm going to have Mitsuru deliver some sushi here."

"...Are you sure that's a good idea?" I asked. "She won't kill us for daring to ask that of her?"

"She seems scary, but I'm sure she'll be more than willing. You might not believe it, but she appreciates your help here." She hesitated, then slowly added, "But that e-mail Narukami-san sent really, really damaged her pride, so there may be some hostility there. Just a fair warning..."

I facepalmed, which seemed to be my standard reaction whenever that e-mail got mentioned.

"I don't take threats very well," Seta said simply. Koromaru hopped up onto the couch and curled up by Seta's stomach. He put his arm over the dog and shut his eyes again.

"Aw," Yukari giggled. "That's cute."

I smirked. I had to agree with her, they did make a cute pair.

"...Would you mind if I used the restroom?" she asked eventually.

"Oh, sure, the restrooms are attached to either bedroom."

She nodded and headed for the master bedroom, disappearing around the corner. The door shut, and there was a moment of silence.

"You know," Seta muttered. "I haven't seen you get that flustered about a girl in a long time."

"I-I-...What...?!" _Damnit!_

"And she thinks you're cute. Maybe you have a chance."

"Sh-shut up!" I stared at my feet, blushing insanely. "I-I just think she's hot, that's all."

"She is." He grinned. "You know, I can ask for Minato's approval if you want."

"What?! No! I-I'm not that serious about it. I just met her! Sheesh..." A thought crossed my mind, and I raised an eyebrow at him. "Hey, I was wondering. Yukiko-san and Rise-chan were fighting about you the other day..."

"Really?" He opened an eye. "Why?"

"Well, Yukiko-san made a jab at Rise-chan's e-mail name...said that it was rude to you, since you two weren't married or anything."

"Yeah...?"

"...Are you dating either of them? Or both of them? Or something?"

"Why would I date both of them?" he asked blandly.

"...So you are dating one of them."

"...I might be. I might not be. I refuse to answer that."

"Why?"

"...On grounds of my health."

"That makes no sense, dude."

But before I could get any more out of him, Yukari came back, so we dropped the subject. I decided to grab Seta a new shirt around that point, too. Hopefully, this one wouldn't get blood all over it.

After Yukari pulled a few strings with Mitsuru, we did end up ordering sushi. And after she nearly fainted while getting herself a drink, Yukari and I spent the rest of the evening cleaning that damn fridge. Seta, to his credit, did try to help, but he was still in pretty bad shape, so I contented myself with hanging the 'you owe us so much for this' card over his head. Yukari had planned to go home after dinner, but Koromaru had made himself very comfortable squished between Seta and the couch, so she ended up staying the night.

When the Dark Hour hit, we were all sitting together in the living room. For the past two days, the Dark Hour had gotten longer and longer. It had hit for half an hour the day before, and I'd jokingly proposed a name change earlier, but 'the Dark Half Hour' didn't have the same ring to it.

"I never thought I'd have to deal with this again..." Yukari sighed heavily, her evoker tight in her hand. "You know, you really should each have your own." She shook her head and reached into her bag, pulling out a collar. "Here, boy." Koromaru hopped to her side, and she fitted it around his neck. "This is Koro-chan's evoker."

"...What?" Seta looked a bit lost. "W-Well...I guess that explains why my Cerberus suddenly has Mudo skills..."

"You have Cerberus, as well? How many Personas do you have?" she asked.

"Um...I never counted..." He seemed embarrassed.

There was a knock on the door.

...During the Dark Hour?

Seta got to his feet. He stumbled, and I almost told him to sit his ass back down, but he shook it off and headed down the hall, very obviously apprehensive. As he went by me, I placed one of my kunai into his hand. He slipped it into his pocket. When he took too long, they knocked again. I had a bad feeling about this...He'd left the evoker on the table, probably for me to use in case something went wrong. Yukari had gotten to her feet, and Koromaru was growling uneasily.

He glanced through the peephole and gave a rather sharp inhale, confirming some unspoken fear. He took his time grabbing the handle, preparing himself for the worse...

And then startled all of us by ramming his shoulder into the door, sending it flying open at high speeds. It hit the person closest to the door in the face, and he/it let out an inhuman shriek. He attempted to slam it shut once more, but one of the human attackers squeezed through and flung it open, before ramming into Seta headfirst, sending both of them falling to the ground. Koromaru threw his head back and howled. The human attacker faded, revealing a bird-like enemy that drove its beak into the side of Seta's face. He retaliated by pulling out the kunai and stabbing it in the gut.

I'd never seen Shadows like these before. Were they even Shadows?

I guess it was time to find out.


	13. The Warning

_Sunday, August 5, 2012, 12:00 AM_

* * *

I pulled the kunai backwards and plunged it into its side, its arm/wing, before it had time to think, before it even had time to register the damage. I could feel blood running down my face, could see it still dripping from the 'Shadow's' beak. Was it even a Shadow? Shadows didn't show up at the door as humans...what was going on here?!

It drove its beak back down towards my wrist, attempting to disarm me. I stabbed it in one of its many eyes, and it let out a shriek. As it was distracted, I rolled over and charged back towards the living room. Its open beak clamped around my shoulder, and searing pain tore through my back as it ripped off a large chunk of skin and muscle. I couldn't hold back a painful scream, no matter how hard I tried.

"Holy shit-!"

I stumbled and grabbed the couch as it leapt again, beak open. "Is it trying to-?!" I couldn't even finish that. I was too afraid to.

Yosuke and Yukari were holding their own, and Koromaru had launched himself onto the couch, over the table, and into the kitchen. He returned with a knife in his jaws. I would've called him a good boy if I wasn't afraid I was about to die.

Speaking of Death, I was currently trying to keep Thanatos under control. I wasn't sure I could handle another disaster at his hands.

I whirled around and took a risk, stabbing it in the open mouth as it lunged for my chest cavity. It let out an inhuman wail, and I removed the weapon, stumbling backwards. Yukari and Yosuke readjusted, so we were all standing semi back to back. I almost apologized to Yosuke, who was up against my bleeding shoulder, but then I realized getting blood all over his clothes was the least of our worries. The enemies had already formed a circle around us, and at the moment, it seemed to be a standoff. We all waited for the other side to make a move. I could feel myself getting dizzy from bloodloss, and Yosuke unconsciously moved his arm slightly when it began to drench his jacket.

"At this rate, we'll need new wardrobes," I muttered under my breath.

"Yukari-san can design them," he replied. Well, we were both calm enough to be cracking jokes. It was a start.

"Yosuke, I think they're trying to eat us," I said through gritted teeth.

"They're not Shadows...are they?"

I shook my head. "Yukari-san. Familiar to you...?"

"No. Not at all." Her eyes narrowed. "...Are we waiting for them to attack?"

I grinned slightly. "Not quite. Sic 'em."

Koromaru's loud howl pierced the air, and one of the opponents caught fire. "Go!" I shouted. Yukari pulled the evoker trigger, and Yosuke leapt forward, kunai out. I sprinted, faster than I thought I'd be capable of in my condition, and slammed into the human opponent, lashing upwards at its face. Its human form flickered, and I shifted sideways to avoid its beak. I heard a few shrieks, and I heard Yosuke let out a slight grunt. Yukari had put herself between two opponents and the dog; Koromaru was a lot smaller and a lot more vulnerable. She was tougher than I gave her credit for: She didn't have a real weapon, so she was using a chair. Wind was building up at their feet, lashing out like whips to protect her and Koromaru from the weird, bird-human opponents. They were recoiling and stepping backwards, more so than they were from a blade...and in a moment that both amused and scared me, they unknowingly backed right into Yosuke, who proceeded to jump and trip over the coffee table. I lodged the kunai in my enemy's eye once more, its beak tearing a gash into my bicep as I did so, before leaping in front of Yosuke. Last thing I needed was for him to get tag-teamed by three of these things while he was on the ground.

This was when my body decided to go numb. I felt a sting begin in my heart and begin to emanate outwards.

Not again...

Before it could paralyze me, I grabbed the evoker from the table with a trembling hand and put it to my own temple. "Yukari-san! Help me!"

"Y-Yeah!" She raised her evoker. I felt a jolt inside, one that was hard to describe, as we both spoke in sync: "_Isis!_"

Wind exploded from the floorboards and walls, and while the attack wasn't hitting us, I could see small ice particles whirling around us, literally cutting through our opponents despite the size of them. The shrieks were deafening, and moments later, all four of them exploded into...petals...? The wind finally died, leaving pink sakura petals settling on the ground, and nothing more.

"...Is anybody hurt?" Yukari asked finally as Yosuke pushed himself up off the floor.

"I'm not." They both stared at me dully for a moment, and I smirked. "One of these days, I'll get out of a fight unscathed..."

I took a few steps backwards and sat down. My back was bleeding heavily, and while I wouldn't admit it, speaking was very painful because of how close my face injury was to my jaw. My arm was convulsing slightly, sending pain lancing outwards every time it did so. To top it off, while the numbness was wearing off, I could still feel the beginnings of an attack coursing through my blood.

"You should let us handle the dangerous things when you have a fever..." Yosuke pointed out quietly. "You were nowhere near as sharp as you usually are."

I glanced at him and sighed. "I'll take a few more injuries over letting anything happen to you any day."

He gave a frustrated sigh. I could tell he appreciated, but didn't like the sentiment. "There's 'a few more injuries', and then there's 'nearly being eaten alive by cannibalistic bird monsters'. You're not fighting this battle alone anymore, man. We're partners. Trust me on this: I'm not afraid of a few scars."

I opened my mouth to tell him...something. That I appreciated it? That he wasn't getting hurt on my behalf? Whatever it may've been, it was cut short by Yukari.

"...I think you two should continue living together."

"...What?!" we both choked out.

She laughed. "It's just so sweet!" She seemed to mean it genuinely, but that didn't stop the implications from making us feel awkward.

She sat down beside me and lifted up her evoker. "Here..." When she summoned Isis, I felt it resonate inside me as well, and the wounds began to mend themselves up quickly and efficiently. She was still very tired from her earlier session, however, and I wanted to make sure I didn't exhaust myself in case Minato needed to borrow some strength, so all we did was stop the bleeding. Scars would definitely be left. She mostly dealt with the arm, shoulder, and back; the jaw wound was the least likely to cause permanent damage.

When finished, she went over to Yosuke, who had received a gouge of his own on the inside of his arm. "...You know," he said to me, "you're going to have a hard time explaining that scar on your face to the team." The implication was clear: 'You should come clean.'

I shrugged. "What can they do from there?"

"Investigate the TV while we investigate the Dark Hour from here. After all, they can reach the TV, we can't, and we can see this hour while they can't."

...This was new to me. The look on my face must've made that obvious. "Kirijo-san told me the Dark Hour wasn't in any region outside of the fog," he explained.

"So the fog's causing it...?" I asked.

"I don't know. We can assume that, for now, but wouldn't that technically mean the Dark Hour is occurring inside the TV as well?"

...More questions. We both sighed.

"...Let's not worry about things we can't change," Yukari decided. "The Dark Hour's here, and according to you, we don't actually have an hour. We don't know how long we do have. So let's hurry up."

I nodded and straightened out. Yosuke kept a close eye on me. "How are you feeling?" he asked slowly.

"...Better than I have been..." The sudden fit was slowly beginning to die away, and with it, the fever seemed to be receding. For the first time in days, I was at least at a semi-normal temperature. I managed a tentative grin with the uninjured half of my face. "Yukari-san's right, we don't have a ton of time." I headed into the kitchen, where Koromaru was sitting on the counter with a large knife in his jaws. "Are you alright, boy?"

"Arf!" The weapon fell into the sink, and he wagged his tail. He seemed to be fine. I pet him, and he quickly licked my face injury, as if hoping that might make it better. I hugged him. Yosuke had been right, I was more of a cat person, but damn if Koromaru wasn't adorable.

"Awww." Yukari giggled. "He likes you!"

I scratched the dog behind the ears. Yosuke, with his arm healed as much as it could be, scooped up some of the flower petals. "...Shadows usually don't leave any traces..." he murmured.

I frowned. "Are those just normal flowers...?" I asked uneasily.

"I don't know." He turned one of the petals over in his hand. "They seem to be...but I'd burn them anyway, just in case. Can you help me, Koro?"

"Arf!" The two both worked together to collect them into a pile. Koromaru dug around with his paws to help Yosuke gather some stray ones in hard to reach places, and the dog helpfully set them all on fire once they were all gathered.

Welcome to one of the weirder days of my life.

"How did Koromaru learn to understand people...?" I asked slowly.

"I don't know," Yukari admitted. "He knew when we met him."

I blinked. Huh. Maybe Koromaru and the fox knew the same guy. "Well, we're wasting time. Let's go." I headed for the door.

"Sure you're up for this?" I wanted to call Yosuke's concern excessive or misplaced. I almost told him it was. But...I had to face it. He had every right to worry.

"Yeah. I am." I'd been out with a fever for two days now, and despite Yukari's healing, I was still sore. Even my limp hadn't entirely gone away, and I got the feeling some of the char marks would remain on my arm for a long time, if not permanently. Add to that the fact that I had been falling apart, almost literally, earlier in the day...who said it wouldn't start again the moment we got outside? There was a very high chance that the attack that had started would finally hit soon...I wondered what to ask of him, because there was no way I was staying behind...no matter how I phrased it, nothing came to mind.

In the end, I just said, "Let's go," fetched my sword from the closet and my glasses from the dresser, and headed out the door. I could see him keeping an eye on me on the way down the stairs. I'd only gone outside during the Dark Hour once before. I was glad to have company this time around.

The streets were foggy and lined with coffins. I could tell that Yosuke was unnerved. Koromaru's fur was bristling, and Yukari just seemed depressed. "I could've lived without seeing this again..." she muttered, tucking her hair behind her ears. "Are we looking for something out here?"

"Anything," I shrugged. "Nothing in particular. We have to start somewhere."

I glanced at a tower, off in the distance, and she followed my gaze. "That's Tartarus. It's what Gekkoukan High School turns into during the Dark Hour."

...Wait, what? I gave her a sideways glance.

She smiled wryly. "Experiments on Shadows were done there by the Kirijo Group. They escaped, and the explosion caused the Dark Hour at the time, which was a warning for the Fall's arrival...and that was delayed when Death's messenger, the Appriser, was split into thirteen pieces...are you following?"

"...Enough," was my slightly awkward answer, though it was striking me more as a trippy piece of fiction than reality when it was being dumped on me so suddenly.

"Well, the pieces were united, the Fall nearly came, and Minato pulled off a miracle to hold it back...he gave up his life in the process...he's definitely what's holding the Fall back now."

"...And if he fails, it'll be my job."

Her jaw fell open. It was her turn to be shocked. "Wait, _what?!_" She looked alarmed.

"...If he fails, I can't even dream of succeeding. All I can do is let him borrow my strength and fight until we solve things down here." I nodded firmly. "Though judging by my state earlier today, he's having a hard time..."

"...I see...We're wasting time, then."

"Any ideas where to start?" I asked her.

"I wish Fuuka were here..." She thought for a moment. "...Maybe we should start at the dorms. They were closed down a while back, but they're still standing."

"Are they close?"

"...Probably not close enough, given the time we may or may not have..." Koromaru began to growl. "...I think something's close by," she murmured.

"Is it bad news?" Yosuke asked.

"Probably. If it were Mitsuru, she would've spoken by now, I think." She took her evoker back out. Koromaru was still growling when my vision began to grow distant, as if something was pulling me away. I recognized the feeling...Minato was trying to reach me. But why now...?!

"Seta...? Are you okay?" Yosuke asked. I tried to speak, but my mouth wouldn't move, and I felt myself collapse forward, eyes falling closed. Everything began to grow numb, and I felt myself receding into my own body. Usually, he called me while I slept, or I transitioned into the required state. I'd never actually considered how frightening being forced into myself like that actually was, and when I found myself in the void of my own mind, I was trembling a little. I heard his footsteps coming towards me, and when I looked up, I saw that his eyes were wide in alarm.

_'Minato-'_ I began.

He dropped to his knees in front of me. _'Are you alright?!'_

I blinked and slowly nodded. _'Um, I think so...At least, I was...Why? Is that not going to last?'_

He looked down at the floor. I wasn't used to seeing him this anxious._ 'I think...I-I had this vision. Um...The second god that I'm currently fighting is named Yami, and...I think it just sent something after you.'_

...This could be bad. _'Something...? Like what?'_ I asked anxiously.

_'I don't know, it had a lot of heads, or maybe it was a lot of tails, and it was kind of massive, but I really doubt it'll stay that way..._A god just sent its minion after you._ I'm sorry, but I'm _kind of freaking out._'_

_'Calm down,'_ I hissed.

_'Don't tell me to calm down, goddamnit.'_ Minato was glaring at me, a glare that I held. It took a while for it to soften _'...It's been a rough few days.'_

_'I know. I'm still feeling the effects. And you did just sort of make me pass out in the middle of the road.'_

_'Yosuke has your back, doesn't he? Yukari now, too.' _I slowly nodded. Fair enough._ 'Besides, if you're walking around the street during the Dark Hour, then I guess it's even more important. Who knows where that thing is.'_

...I'd be looking for monsters around every foggy corner now. I'd give him a sarcastic 'thanks' for that, but the truth was, it was probably what he wanted, and likely what the situation required.

_'I'll keep an eye out,'_ I promised. _'It seems most of your team will be regrouping soon.'_

_'And what about yours?' _he asked.

_'Um...they're trying to get involved. I'm trying to stop them.'_

I waited for him to snap 'let them get involved!' but he didn't._ 'If you feel they're safer staying out of the way, it's your call. With no physical body, I can't do this alone, but your case is different. I won't tell you what to do.'_ He continued to hold my gaze._ 'But if I may have input, and forgive me for sounding cold, but they can protect you. They can fight for and with you. And as a result, they may get hurt, but it's their call alone. If they want to be involved, you shouldn't deny them that. What if it were one of them in your place? Would you want to fight at their side, or would you rather be kept in the dark? Keep that in mind.'_

He had to put it like that...of course I'd thought about it. I just...

_'Yeah. They'll probably learn everything when they talk to Kirijo-san...'_

_'...I think she won't explain everything. They deserve to hear it from you, don't they? That's probably what she'll think. And when they start asking you questions, you've got to decide what your call will be: Hold out, or answer them?'_

A thought hit me, and I hung my head. _'...What are the chances of this 'Yami' sending something after them, too...?'_

_'I don't know. But the more time that passes, the higher the chances get, is what I'm thinking. It's the same with my team.'_

I nodded slowly. He was right.

_'...Hey. Look after Yukari for me, alright?' _I blinked, and he smirked_. 'She'd get mad at me for saying that, and earlier, I told _her_ to look after _you_, but she probably hasn't fought in a while. Watch her back for me? She's very important to me.'_

I would...but...I remembered something he said earlier. _'Didn't you sleep with Kirijo-san?'_ I asked with a raised eyebrow.

He scratched the back of his head, looking a little awkward, and I realized we could talk about this some other day...if I really wanted to know, and I wasn't sure that I did. _'Never mind.'_

Without much warning, he pressed his hand against the side of my face, beneath the new scar. I didn't tell him that this made me uncomfortable. He probably didn't care, anyway. _'What were you fighting? Shadows don't leave marks like this.'_

_'...I don't know. They were birds, and they exploded into flower petals. Any ideas?'_

_'No, but if Shadows are associated with Erebus, then perhaps what you just fought could be associated with Yami.'_

Made sense. As much as anything did these days, at least. _'They were trying to eat us. Took off a chunk of my back.'_

_'Yeah, I felt that from here. I'd wish indigestion on them but they're kind of dead now, aren't they?'_

I opened my mouth to speak, only to stop when something else caught me off guard: Blood...? Was I bleeding...? I raised my hand to my throat and pulled my fingers back. Sure enough, there were flecks of blood on them.

_'...You're in danger in the real world. I should let you go.'_ Minato stood up. _'I'm sorry to pull you away so suddenly. I've been worried for a few days now.'_

I blinked and nodded, straightening myself out. Despite the blood, I could breathe just fine, so I assumed the cut had not been major...Then again, it was on my throat. That had to account for something.

_'I'm not sure if I can handle a fever that high again. It was brutal,'_ I admitted.

He sighed._ 'I'm trying...' _I could tell he felt bad.

_'I know. It could be worse, so I won't complain.'_

He turned his back on me, the way he did when he was letting me go. I hesitated before I spoke again. _'...Whatever was sent my way. I can handle it. Anything else I should know?'_

He glanced over his shoulder, looking a little tired._ 'In my vision, your death was slow and gruesome. Make sure that doesn't happen.'_

I didn't ask questions, uncertain if I wanted to know. _'It won't.'_ I wouldn't let it, and I was surrounded by people who wouldn't let it.

He nodded. _'Let's go.'_

When I came to, there were a few things I noted: One, I could feel my throat bleeding, but it was not a very deep cut, and one that would probably heal fine, even without a Dia skill. Two, there was a very long sword lying by my hand, with a very light blood mark on it. And three, I was covered in flower petals. I pressed my arms into the ground and pushed myself to all fours, looking up for the others. Yosuke was nearby, panting heavily for breath, a combined look of fear and fury on his face. Yukari was behind him wielding his kunai, and he was holding an evoker instead. I noticed that she was looking at him, clearly impressed. I had a feeling I'd missed something important.

As I started to get up, he quickly charged towards me. "Way to pick the worst time to pass out," he snapped. He was angry at me...but I didn't want to throw Minato under the bus.

"I'm sorry..." I shook my head, feeling flower petals fall from my clothes. "...What happened? To you, not to me..."

"There was an attack. More of those bird things, and a couple of Shadows," Yukari filled in. "The bird things took you hostage. Held that sword to your throat." She gestured to it, and I gave it a side glance. Must've been my blood on it, then. "They told us to step down, and they started to back off, still holding you. They were threatening you. I think one of them started biting into your collarbone, just to watch us squirm." I rested my hand over the spot, and felt warm blood against my palm. "And then..."

"Then...?" I asked.

She gave a slight smile. "...Well, apparently, they're weak to wind. Yosuke-kun here blasted them to pieces. They didn't see it coming." She seemed mildly amused. "They didn't seem to know what an evoker was. They thought he was going to kill himself, apparently." She frowned. "How come you don't use it more...?" she asked him.

He shook his head bitterly. "Turns out I can't use an evoker unless I'm scared shitless and have no other choice." It was the same for me, but I felt I didn't have the right to speak just yet. He glanced at me and sighed, frustrated. "Maybe we should've had you stay in the apartment...Thought about suggesting it, but something could've broken in while we were gone..."

I shook my head quickly. "It's not that," I said firmly. "It was Minato. Apparently, there's something after us."

The two tensed. "Like what?" Yukari asked.

"All he said was that it had a lot of heads and or tails. He doesn't know what it is, only that it's a follower of his second attacker...Yami, apparently, and that it wants us dead. Apparently, he saw me die, but I don't think it was a vision of the future. Seemed more like a threat." I frowned. That's what I'd tell myself, at any rate...

"How will it find you?" Yukari wondered nervously.

"Does it know you're lending Minato-san power?" Yosuke asked, folding his arms.

"...I don't know the answer to the first one, but I guess it figured out about me somehow." I bit my lip. "It's probably worse than these birds, and the Shadows...Maybe you guys should go inside. If it appears, I don't want anything to happen to you."

Yosuke's hands clenched into fists at his sides. "What the hell, man?"

...Huh? I blinked and looked up at him.

"Have some faith in us...in me, will you?! I saved your ass just now! I don't care if I get hurt!"

"It's got nothing to do with my faith in you-" I began.

"Then what is it about, huh?! I keep telling you I want to play my part in this, and you keep saying that you want no one hurt on your behalf! This is getting ridiculous! You'd rather do this alone so nobody else gets hurt?! Then tell me! What would've happened if _I weren't here just now?!_ What if I hadn't called Yukari-san earlier, and you were still passed out on the couch with a massive fever when those birds arrived?!"

I lowered my head. "...It would've been bad," I finally murmured.

"So _stop saying you don't want us around._ We're not defenseless-"

"I'm not saying that you are!" I shouted, frustrated. "I know you're not!"

"But you're _treating us like it!_"

"It has nothing to do with how strong you are!" I was glaring daggers at him.

"Then what is it?! That's what I want to know!"

"It's about how strong I _should be._" I hated myself for saying it, and I looked away. "I shouldn't need you. I should be able to handle this on my own, without anyone else getting hurt."

"What the-F***, Seta. You _can't._"

"And I _hate myself for that._" Silence hung in the air for a moment. "I've spent my entire life moving from city to city, relying on no one. It's not that I don't want or appreciate this. It's that I don't want to become dependent on it. After all, you've got to home eventually. You have your parents and friends waiting for you."

He shut his eyes, grating his teeth together. It took him a while to speak. "Say you are depending on somebody else. ...So what? Nobody has to go through life alone. Nobody can. So why expect that from yourself?"

"Because it's just how my life has been." It was hard, leaving Inaba and remembering that there really wasn't much waiting for me outside...

"Not anymore. That ended when you met us. You aren't alone. There's nothing wrong with admitting you need help."

I took a deep breath. "...So. What if you die?" He opened his mouth to speak, and I cut him off. "Don't say you won't. When Thanatos attacked, if that sword had been even a few centimeters off, you would've been dead on the spot. It would've been my fault. I can't have your death on my hands...I wouldn't be able to live with myself." Which one of us was being irrational, here...? Or were we both right...?

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," he finally said.

"But it's not one _I'm_ willing to take."

"...But if I leave, and you die, it would be my fault. Because I did nothing to help you. It would be on my hands. And I wouldn't be able to live with that either."

I had so many things I wanted to say, or even shout, so many things I wanted to get across to him...but the fact was, he was just as right as I was. I didn't really know how to handle that. Combined with the fact that this really wasn't where we should've been arguing, and that a near stranger was watching, the whole thing felt very, very uncomfortable.

"...I've already told you that I'm glad you're here. I really am." I gave a heavy sigh, and somehow, a dark, humorless laugh. "Isn't this only day five or six? Why does it feel like months?"

"You tell me." ...Perhaps it was because of the fog (however little sense _that_ made), or maybe it was that we were both wearing glasses, but it was only then that I realized he was silently crying. "...How many more times will I have to say this before I pound it into your skull? Because I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere. We're supposed to be a team, not two separate fighters in the same arena...I'm scared, too. I'm scared, and I'm sure Yukari-san's scared, and maybe even Kirijo-san. But this is a battle we are all fighting. Together. So I want you to stop giving me that look, to stop telling me you don't want me to get hurt. I am going to get hurt, and _I don't care._"

"...I do."

He stepped forward and swung his fist in my face. I winced, but the anticipation was worse than the actual hit. If anything, it was more playful than it was angry. "Well, maybe I'm done caring if I scare you. You keep scaring the shit out of me. You nearly died protecting me from Thanatos. I don't think you even realize how close you came. And maybe you'll keep watching my back, looking over your shoulder and mine, making sure I don't get hurt. You know what? That's fine. Because I'll do the exact same thing for you." I was surprised to see him hold out his hand. "Erebus could fall from the goddamn sky right now screaming bloody murder, and I'd fight it with you. Do you hear me? I don't care what we face from here on out, and I don't care if it hurts. _I'm not going anywhere._"

I stared at his hand for a while before I slowly reached out and took it, giving it a firm shake.

As I did, I felt a familiar sensation run through me. It was the same feeling I got whenever a Social Link went up.

I'd long since brought Yosuke's Social Link to max...

Did it just go up to eleven...?

If so, what did that entail...?

I shoved the thought aside as a new thought occurred to me. I was quick to say it. If I didn't speak, I'd lose the nerve. "...Tomorrow morning. I'm going to call the team and tell them everything." With him as witness to it, he wouldn't let me back off. Besides...I needed to let him know he'd gotten through to me. I was sure that was what he wanted.

The look of relief on his face was unmistakable. "...Great." He smiled.

This was when Koromaru let out a happy yip and leapt into my arms. "Whoa-!" I stumbled backwards a few paces but managed to stay on my feet. Yosuke laughed and glanced back at Yukari. We'd sort of forgotten she was there. Sort of. "Sorry..."

"Don't be." She seemed at ease. "I've been on the giving and receiving end of speeches like that. They need to happen."

I found myself blushing. "Probably could've chosen a better time..." I glanced around, searching for enemies in the fog.

"Don't worry. Koro-chan would've alerted you. And he seems pretty content right now. I can't imagine there's anything nearby." She frowned. "At the same time, if there's something lurking in the fog, we shouldn't wander aimlessly...we should come up with a plan. A few destinations. And perhaps we'll need a mission control. I know some people. How about we start a proper mission in a few days? Until then, perhaps we can all train. I know I need to pick up my bow and arrow again. It's been a while." She nodded firmly. "And in the meantime, you guys should call the other team and have them search the TV. I'm not exactly sure what that entails, but I keep hearing about it, and it sounds just as important as exploring the Dark Hour."

"...Sounds like a plan," I murmured.

She smiled and pulled a few tissues out of her pocket. They were clean; she'd put them into her pocket when she had been crying earlier, and I hadn't seen her use them. I wasn't sure why she was handing them to me for a moment, until Yosuke ran his thumb over his throat and I remembered that I was bleeding. I quickly wiped it off as Yosuke picked up the sword. "You should keep this."

I took it from him and tested its weight. Seemed pretty good to me.

Yukari picked up my old one. "If you don't need this, mind if I bring it to a friend of mine? I'm not sure he still has a sword."

"Sure."

She nodded. "Let's head back to the apartment. Before we're required to make a phone call to get in."

...Good idea.

"By the way, Yosuke."

He glanced at me in confusion. I rubbed the back of my hand against my eyes, and he did the same for himself. When he realized that he was crying, he looked surprised. "When did that happen...?" I could tell that he was embarrassed.

"No worries." I slapped his shoulder and gave him a smile. "Let's go home."

We all hurried back to the complex, and were on the third floor by the time the 'hour' ended. The power had only come back for good yesterday, something I was disliking as the hall lights blinded me. I told Yukari that she could sleep in the master bedroom. Yosuke told Koromaru that they could share the couch, something the little dog didn't seem to mind much at all. As for me, the moment we got home, I headed for my room and passed out on the bed. Sleep was already taking me over. I hadn't been getting much rest at all while I was ill...I heard quiet laughter, and a click as my door was shut. Everything faded out.

...  
_...  
__...I could hear Seta's strangled breathing from the other side of the door. I was panicking, trying desperately to focus through my fear and through the pain in my shoulder, bleeding copiously and uncontrollably. I pushed myself to my feet and scrambled desperately for the closet door. His sword had to be in there somewhere, right...?! Even if not his sword...There had to be something...!_

_Except when I looked inside, there was nothing there._

_And when I looked into his room, it was absolutely devoid of anything._

_I heard a sickening crunch outside, and I bolted towards the door. "SETA!" I screamed and pounded my fist against the wood. Something burst in my shoulder, causing a fresh new wave of blood. Dizziness overcame me, and I swayed on the spot, grabbing the door handle and collapsing to my knees. I didn't have the strength to open it._

_Thanatos' sword burst through the door and tore through my stomach, exiting through my back. I was too shocked to even make a sound. The door was thrown off its hinges, and Thanatos stepped inside, pulling his weapon out. Beyond the frame, I could see Seta, completely still, his head tilted at an off angle. His mother was pinned against the wall with his own sword, lifelessly staring at the floor._

_The sword pressed against my shoulder and slid sideways into my neck._

_I heard him scream._

_I screamed._

_"Yosuke! _NO!_"_

_This wasn't happening!_

_I rolled over, gasping for air, struggling to my feet. His throat was pouring blood, and he was trying to make a sound, only to choke. As I reached for Thanatos, though, I was hit by a wave of flame. Heat poured into my veins, causing my body to sear, and I fell to the ground. My heart began to beat irregularly, my breath caught in my throat. My eyesight faded, to be replaced with the void._

_In front of me, I could see Yami slowly but easily tearing Minato to pieces. Inside, I felt everything. I shuddered and gasped, drowning in the pain I was going through. He glanced sideways at me and mouthed something before he disintegrated into shards of glass, and I felt the chains and wires of the statue begin to wrap around my limbs. I struggled, to no avail. I felt my connection to my body snap, and in that moment, I forgot what it was like to be alive at all. An exhaustion crashed over me, just as I felt a hand slam into my chest. It didn't feel like much, without a physical form attached to it. At least, it felt like nothing the first time. The more it slammed into me, trying to destroy me, trying to get me out of the way, the more it ached, and the harder it was to hold my own. I couldn't hear anything but the two gods' unearthly screams, because in the void, that was all there was to hear._

_I opened my eyes to see the rest of my team fighting off the bird monsters, trying to protect themselves from Yami. But as they did, I could also see the Thousand Curses beginning to bubble at the ground by their feet. I tried to open my mouth, but I couldn't move. I had no voice to call out with. I could only watch as the dark hands wrapped around them and dragged them down, kicking and screaming._

_I felt the statue splinter into pieces as Yami's hand pierced through my heart._

_I woke up in my bed, staring at a black ceiling, shaking violently in a cold sweat._

_Was I alive...?_

_I felt hot breath running over my entire body, once, twice...and that's when the 'ceiling' opened its red eyes, and I felt teeth slowly press into my body, across my chest and neck. I felt every second of it as ribs snapped, skin tore, muscles split and blood spilt forward._

_"_H_e_l_p _m_e_._._._"_

_Blood began to pour from my mouth, and everything began to fade but the pain. I silently begged for death..._

"Wake up, man!"

I felt myself being violently shaken back and forth, and when I opened my eyes, I saw Yosuke. He was trembling violently, and he was panting for breath. It took me a moment to realize I'd begun to cry in my sleep.

"...What time is it?"

"Never mind that...!" He wrapped an arm around himself, placing his free hand against his neck, as if checking to be sure it wasn't injured. "_Shit._" He was quiet for a moment. "Was that your nightmare I just had...? Are you alright?"

"Maybe," I murmured. "It's the same nightmare I have every night." His look was one of near disbelief. "...I just want to sleep..."

"...You know..." He shut his eyes. "I think I understand, now, why you're so scared...You'd be insane not to be."

He grabbed my shoulder, and his grip on it stayed tight. He seemed to be out of words. I nodded very slightly and shut my eyes, waiting for the pain to fade away. I felt awful...I was breathless, and I was freezing once more...I still felt trapped, and every heartbeat hurt.

"...The Thousand Curses," he finally murmured.

"What about it...?"

"...How long has it been scaring you? It happened the day before you left, and you never mentioned it again."

"...I don't want you guys to die because of me...I'm not worth your lives..." I'm not worth more than them. They shouldn't have to die because of me...

"...You're worth it to us." He smiled slightly. "But I'm not one to talk. I'd punch the hell out of you if you took a death blow for me."

I managed to smirk. "So you're a hypocrite?"

"Maybe." He seemed more amused than irritated or saddened. "...You still plan on calling the others first thing tomorrow?"

I stared at the ceiling, afraid that something may emerge from it. "...I said I would, so I have to, huh..."

"...Pretty much." He scooped Koromaru (who I hadn't seen come in) up off the floor and placed him on my bed, where the little dog curled up and rested his head on my neck. I put an arm around him. "You should get a pet," Yosuke said.

I pet Koromaru's head. "Pets aren't allowed in the apartments. Koro's supposedly a doll, remember?"

"Yeah..." He frowned. "But I thought Yukari-san said...never mind. You'd know the rules better than me. Koro woke me up from my nightmare, so maybe it'll be best if he wakes you up from yours." He glanced out the broken window where the sun was rising. "We should get whatever rest we can. Who knows what sort of day we have ahead of us?"

"Yeah...Who knows..." I wasn't sure how we shared a nightmare, and I wanted to ask, but thought better of it. Besides, maybe I already knew... "I'm so tired..."

"Well, now I can see why," he sighed. "Let me know if your fever comes back. I'm going to try and get back to sleep..."

As he started for the door, Koromaru jolted upright and whimpered. Yosuke blinked and turned around. "What's wrong, boy? Do you have to go?"

Koromaru shook his head.

"Hungry?"

Again, a headshake.

"What do you want, then?"

The dog hopped to the floor and grabbed Yosuke's pant leg in his jaws, pulling him backwards towards the bed. "...What?" He glanced at me in confusion.

"I think he wants you to stay here." I found myself blushing more than I should've.

"What...? Dude, I can't do that." He may've been blushing as well, but I refused to look at him.

"Not my idea." I looked at the broken window instead.

"Koromaru, I have to go sleep-"

He let out a heartbreaking whimper, his ears drooping.

"I can't sleep in Seta's room-"

Even louder whimper, and the dog poked his leg desperately with his paw.

"I-" And he was cut off by Koromaru's large puppy dog eyes. "...Damnit." He looked embarrassed.

"Um...Koro, he can't sleep in here," I said, hoping to spare Yosuke the embarrassment.

Koromaru turned around and nibbled on my fingers, giving them a lick, turning his pleading look to me.

"..._Koromaru_..."

He hopped onto his hind paws and pressed his nose into my face, letting out a final whimper. I finally sighed. "...Yosuke, there's a futon in the closet."

Koromaru yipped cheerfully and licked my face, running around in eager circles.

"I don't get dogs..." Yosuke refused to look at me as he went to grab it. Koromaru even helped him pull it out, and the dog moved it right up against my bed, for maximum awkward. I exchanged a glance with Yosuke. "...What did Yukari-san even teach him?" he grumbled.

"I don't even care anymore." I stared uncomfortably at the ceiling as he lied back down, and the dog, pleased with himself, hopped back onto my bed.

It took a long time for either of us to feel settled in enough to go back to sleep, though in the end, Yosuke was the first to crash. Koromaru wore a puppy grin as he snuggled by my chest. One of his paws was draped over the side of the bed and resting against Yosuke's shoulder. It took me another ten minutes to finally make the connection. "...Are you trying to protect both of us?" I asked him.

He gave a quiet yip and pressed his face against mine. "You know, I could've just come out to the couches." I was silent for a moment. "...Or did you also want to sleep on my bed?"

"*Squeak*"

"You're evil."

He panted happily, and I placed my hand on his back. I felt him watching over me until I was out.


	14. The Confession

_Sunday, August 5, 2012, 11:46 AM_

* * *

"Is everyone here?" I asked, simply out of courtesy. Everyone responded affirmative, and I amusedly thought that it wasn't as if they could have responded with a negative anyway if they weren't here. I pressed my phone against my ear once more. "I've gathered everyone at the food court, Senpai, and I have my laptop. What is it?"

_"Alright. If we're all gathered, then maybe it's about time we had a webchat,"_ Seta murmured. He sounded a bit weary.

"I have a few questions, Senpai. Yukiko-senpai was able to reach Kirijo-san yesterday-"

_"We can talk about that soon,"_ he said. _"...I'm sorry that I held off for so long."_

"...Don't apologize, Senpai." I tried to mask my confusion. Yukiko had been very distressed after her call with Seta yesterday. Apparently, his mother had, in fact, passed away, and she seemed concerned that Seta may've been contemplating suicide. Apparently, he'd begun to ask her something: _'If I die...'_ We were all concerned.

_"Then I'll sign into HHCom."_ Short for HeeHo Communications, but we tended to call it HHCom when we wanted to take it seriously. _"Talk to you soon."_

There was a quiet dial tone. He'd hung up, so I slipped my phone into my pocket, opened my laptop lid and signed into HHCom myself. Moments later, I located his account and sent him a call. The others began to huddle around me, Rise uncomfortably so. There was a rather long wait time, and I almost thought he wouldn't pick up, but then there was a beep and a quiet voice chiming 'Hee Ho!' Moments later the image began to materialize.

"Seta-senp-...S...Senpai?" Rise's enthusiasm melted away faster than I thought was possible as their images came into view. Oh my... "Senpai...! What happened to you two?!"

Her question was a valid one. Seta wasn't even looking at the camera, choosing to keep his gaze on the keyboard, and the way his head was tilted fully exposed a deep, ragged gouge in the side of his face. Not only that, but the beginnings of a slit could be seen on his neck, amidst red, irritated skin. One of his arms was hanging slightly limply at his side, a clean scar across his bicep. It opened up at the top to reveal almost exposed muscle over his shoulder that disappeared down his back. Not only that, but one of his entire arms was charred black. Yosuke looked only slightly better, but not by much. His shoulder had a large, still healing scar across it, clearly made by a sword. The two both looked absolutely exhausted, and they wore serious looks on their faces. I instantly knew that, whatever conversation we were about to have, it would lead to something important.

I didn't mind, as long as it lead to an explanation.

_"Good morning."_ Seta's voice was strained. I wondered if he was still feverish, or if he'd even slept at all.

Yosuke managed to look a little happier for us. _"Yo! Naoto-kun, thanks for setting this all up for us!"_ He raised his good arm and gave a slight wave. His enthusiasm was nice, I suppose, but it didn't ease my fears.

"It's no problem. Clearly, we have some things to discuss."

_"Yeah, no kidding,"_ Yosuke agreed. _"So. How much did you guys figure out? Were you able to reach Kirijo-san?"_

"Yes," Yukiko murmured. "She...she told us a few things. She told us about...what was it? The Dark Hour? She said it only strikes over there...for now. That it's confined to the fog surrounding Tatsumi Port Island, where Seta's currently living." Her gaze hardened. "Seta! Why didn't you tell us about the fog?!"

_"..."_ He was quiet.

"Senpai-" I began.

_"Give him a break. He's wanted to tell us, but he's had personal reasons as to why he hasn't until now."_ Yosuke looked frustrated. _"It took a lot of pestering on my part to get him to talk."_ Seta gave Yosuke a glance that said 'you could say that again,' but he refrained from saying it aloud. _"So, where do we start?"_

"The scars!" Rise yelped. "What happened to you?!"

"I want to know your ties to the Dark Hour..." Yukiko whimpered. "Kirijo-san refused to tell us anything. Said that it wasn't her place...and she was right, too."

"I want to know how we can help!" Teddie chimed in.

"I want to know when we go over and help you kick some butt!" Chie yelled.

"I want to know when it began," I admitted. "I heard there are now other Persona users. Could you tell us about them?"

"...I want to know the name of that dog."

We all looked at Kanji, and then back at the screen. There was indeed a dog on the screen, its head poking over the back of the couch. It looked like it was standing on a chair for leverage.

"...Awww!" Rise squeaked.

The overwhelmed look on Seta's face slowly melted away, and he glanced over his shoulder at the dog thankfully, standing to scoop it up in his arms. _"This is Koromaru,"_ he said, sitting down again. _"He's the companion of a girl currently at my place."_

"...There's a girl at your house?" Yukiko's voice was dark, and I felt Rise flinch as well.

He looked mildly alarmed and quickly backtracked, to my amusement. _"Yes. She's a friend of Kirijo-san, she's a Persona user, and a healer. She was taking care of us yesterday...Um, the dog's also a Persona user."_

"...Th-that makes no sense," I choked out.

_"I can't help you. I saw it myself."_ He scratched Koromaru behind the ears, and the dog started panting. I searched for words and found none. ...Alright. Moving on.

"One step at a time. When and how did this start?" I asked.

Yosuke gave him a look, and he slowly nodded. _"...It was a month or so ago. Midnight hit, and the sky turned green, the power went out...and I heard somebody screaming for help...it was over so fast, I thought I'd been dreaming... And it happened multiple times, for a few days in a row, before I realized it wasn't in my head, and I finally called aloud in response. He appeared in my room the next day. He seemed to be in pain, and when he collapsed, I grabbed his shoulder...I guess that's where it started. We began communicating telepathically, and I started seeing things through his eyes from where he was."_

"And where is he?" I prompted.

_"He's...He's sort of a gate. A seal, if you will. Standing between a goddess of rebirth and a monster, born of humans, that wishes for death...if the two meet, the world ends."_ I would've asked if he was serious, if his face hadn't made it painfully obvious that he was not making up a single word. _"...A second being is trying to push him aside. Yami, he claims it's called. And he's not exactly meant to withstand two beings of that sort of power. He's currently using my strength to fight it."_

"...How does the Dark Hour tie into this?" I asked when no one else did.

_"The Dark Hour...I'm not exactly sure, but I think that's when the world's meant to end. I guess it's when Shadows call the rebirth god...Nyx...down. They're all meant to be pieces of Nyx. Shards of the heart...it's complicated, I suppose."_

"...Does the same hold true for the TV world...?" Rise asked slowly.

_"...I don't think so."_ He seemed confused. _"I thought Shadows in the TV world were meant to be facets of human emotion...but I guess no one said the two were mutually exclusive..."_ He shook his head. _"I'll leave the speculation to you guys, for now, I guess."_

I filtered through the questions in my head. "...What about this 'seal' character? Who is he?" I asked.

_"His name is Minato Arisato."_

...Wh-what...?!

_"He-"_

"Hold on a second!" I shouted, and everyone looked at me in surprise. "Minato Arisato?! That can't be possible...!"

"Do you know him...?" Kanji looked stunned.

"He's my _cousin!_"

_"...What?!"_ Yosuke's eyes had grown wide, and Seta was trying to stop his jaw from dropping. _"How is that possible...?!"_

"You tell me!" I was staring at him in complete shock. "It-It's not as if we knew each other well...our parents both died in the same accident, and he was flung from the car while I was trapped inside...I never saw him again after I woke up in the hospital. And now you're telling me he's a barrier between two god-like forces...? How?!"

He looked sorry. _"...I can't answer that. All I know is that he gave up his life to prevent the Fall-"_

"Wait, wasn't there some cult craze about Nyx and the Fall back in middle school?" Chie asked Yukiko. I had some doubts that Yukiko could remember back that far.

"I think so..."

_"...Yeah, apparently, something real was actually happening. Who knew?"_ Seta looked dully amused. I was still too stunned for words. _"...So that was supposed to put the Dark Hour away for good...except if he falls, the Seal breaks...well, not exactly."_ He gave a very weak, very fake smile. _"...If he fails, I'll die and take his place."_

"Senpai!" Rise yelped, horrified. "Y-You can't do that-!"

_"I have no choice. And if I fail after that, the world ends."_

Silence hung in the air around us.

"...Then how do we stop it?" Yukiko asked, her voice shaking. "And don't you dare say we can't!"

_"I'm sure we can, but we're still trying to figure out how. The key seems to be bringing down Yami...the god who was never meant to be reaching for Nyx...or at least getting it out of the way. Minato can hold off the first one, Erebus, just fine."_

"...Will there be answers inside the TV?" Kanji asked slowly.

_"...Maybe. The town's currently shrouded in fog, so we're thinking there's something in there. What it might be, we don't know, but that and the Dark Hour are the only leads we've got. The Dark Hour is restricted to Tatsumi Port Island, but the only safe entrance we know of to the TV world is in Inaba."_

"Leave it to us, Sensei!" Teddie seemed happy.

"...What about the scars?" Rise asked. She stared down at her hands in her lap, fiddling anxiously. "What happened?"

Seta blinked and raised his hand to his neck. _"...Mostly Shadow attacks...And attacks by beings that weren't quite Shadows, possibly Yami's followers. You should keep an eye out for them in the TV world. They're smarter and a lot more malicious."_

"...Senpai, are you hiding something?" I asked.

He blinked, seeming surprised. _"What do you mean?"_

"...I was just wondering. You seemed to be hesitating." I adjusted my hat. "Or am I wrong?"

Yosuke thought for a moment, and then slowly, to the surprise of everyone on our end, he gently put a hand on Seta's shoulder. _"You don't have to keep blaming yourself,"_ he whispered. _"It's not your fault."_

_"But..."_ He looked miserable.

"...Sensei..." Teddie looked worried. "Whatever happened, let us hear it! We can help you!"

_"...I'm afraid you can't."_ He looked out the window, seeming to be on the edge of tears. Yosuke nodded at him when he managed to catch his eye, and he hesitated for only a moment longer. _"There's a Persona that's completely out of my control, that appears when I...I'm scared that somebody's about to die. Or whenever Minato's being attacked, and my physical body can't stand the strain. He slaughters everything...and I can't stop it..."_ He hung his head. I wasn't sure I'd ever seen him look ashamed, and I didn't like it. _"...And if he's a part of me, then whatever damage he does is my responsibility."_

_"That's ridiculous, Seta!"_ Yosuke snapped roughly. He didn't answer to that, and Yosuke's face fell. _"...You're thinking about her, aren't you?"_

He slowly, reluctantly nodded.

"About who?" Kanji asked, but I suddenly had a feeling that I knew.

"...How did your mother die, Senpai? It was very sudden."

There was a long stretch of silence. Seta stood up and left. Yosuke reached to grab his wrist, but stopped himself. We heard the door shut in the distance.

_"...He'll come back. I think he just needs to breathe."_ Yosuke looked sad.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset him," I murmured, feeling guilty.

_"He hasn't had the time to grieve, with all that's been going on. Every time he passes the phone, he looks at it like the next call might be about his father..."_ He reached out and pet Koromaru, who was staring off in the direction Seta had left with a sad expression on his face. Koromaru let out a quiet whimper and rubbed his head against Yosuke's hand. _"That Persona's name is Thanatos,"_ he continued darkly. _"He did, as far as I'm concerned, put both his parents in the hospital. I'm not sure how it happened, though. I haven't asked him about it."_

"...What about you guys?" Yukiko asked softly.

_"He was subjected to a sudden, violent attack, and he just...sort of appeared. Destroyed everything in the room, and came after me. Ran his sword through the door and my shoulder."_ I was quick to notice how close the wound was to his throat. It could have been much, much worse. I shuddered. _"When he got in the way, he attempted to strangle him to death. His throat was swelling shut by the time I got the Persona off him."_ His monotone told me that he was trying to push the thoughts away. He didn't want to think about it. _"It was two or three days before you called us, Yukiko-san."_

"I-I see..."

_"...Nothing's stopping it from happening again. I know it terrifies him. He doesn't want anything to happen to us. Keeps saying so. That's why it took so long for him to speak up."_ He shook his head. _"It's going to sound like I'm bragging, but I wouldn't about something so serious...If it weren't for me, he'd be dead by now. We need you guys to help us out. There's gotta be something in the TV that will finally settle this. Can you do that?"_

"You know we will, Senpai," Kanji said strongly. "Leave it to us!"

He smiled a little. _"Thanks."_

"...How do you summon a Persona in the real world?" Chie asked.

_"...Haha...ha...hoo boy."_ He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. _"Um...there's this gun...and you sort of shoot yourself in the head with it."_

We all stared at him.

_"Yeah, it sucks about as much as it sounds like it does."_

I couldn't help but stare down at the gun I was wearing at my hip. For a brief second, I tried to imagine putting it to my head. I shook my head violently, feeling physically ill. "That's insane," I whispered.

_"I know,"_ he muttered, _"but it's all we have."_ He stared at his hands. _"...Anything else?"_

"...Can we come over any time soon?" Teddie asked.

_"This is no time for-"_ Yosuke began, frustrated.

"This isn't simply because we want to anymore," I insisted. "This is about whether or not you truly need us over there."

He slowly nodded a little, thinking. _"...Keep an ear out, and try not to make too many plans. I'll let you know when."_ He glanced over his shoulder, and his expression relaxed a bit. _"Hey, come sit back down, man."_

"Yeah, no need to panic on us, Senpai! We still love you!" Rise chirped.

I wasn't exactly sure if this was about his fear of what we'd think or if it was more about his own guilt, but I spoke up. "We've been waiting to see you for a long time. Care to show your face?" My tone was teasing. After a bit of coaxing from all of us, he eventually sat back down.

_"By the way, you and Yukari-san did a great job with the fridge."_ His voice was a bit strained, but it was wonderful to hear him make a joke.

_"You owe us so much for that, I swear."_ Yosuke seemed happier, now, despite his words.

_"You did miss a few things. Don't worry, though, I cleaned them out myself."_

_"...When?"_ he asked, confused.

_"When I was hungry."_

Yosuke looked horrified, while Seta was grinning ear to ear. It was...an interesting contrast. I was personally just glad that Seta was smiling at all.

_"Good morning!"_ The two slowly looked over their shoulders towards the female voice, Koromaru's ears perking up. _"Who are you talking to?"_

_"The Inaba Investigation Team,"_ Yosuke said with a nod.

_"Oh, so we've got the TV search all set to go, then?"_ She sounded relieved. _"Alright! I should send SEES a few calls, myself."_

"SEES?" I asked.

_"Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad,"_ she clarified. _"My name is Yukari Takeba. I've heard a lot about you guys. I hope we'll all get along well."_

"It's nice to meet you, too," I said.

There was quiet background noise. It seemed Yukari was adjusting some glasses in the kitchen. _"By the way, Seta-kun, Yosuke-kun, I was wondering."_ The two glanced at her. _"Why were you two sharing a room last night?"_

Kanji, who'd been drinking soda, did a spit take.

"Pardon me?" I asked slowly, raising an eyebrow at the two.

Yosuke was shaking his head vigorously, his face quickly going red.

_"K-Koromaru started to complain when he left..."_ Seta said quickly. _"Practically dragged him back into the room..."_ I thought he was lying, but the dog gave a bark of affirmation. Intelligent little guy, wasn't he...

_"I see."_ I saw her hand as she stopped by the couch. _"...I don't mean to say this in front of your friends, Seta-kun, but you were screaming in your sleep."_

His face fell. _"Oh...was I...?"_

_"...Hate to say it, but you're frequently distressed when you're sleeping,"_ Yosuke told him. His tone was sympathetic, however.

_"Really, though, Yosuke-kun, you didn't seem to be faring much better...so I think he wanted to protect both of you. Koro-chan's real loyal like that, isn't he? Aren't you boy?"_

_"Arf, arf!"_ He wagged his tail enthusiastically. I glanced at Seta, who seemed a bit dejected.

"Maybe I should start singing you to sleep, Senpai," Rise said, winking at the screen.

_"I doubt that would stop the nightmares. It'd be nice, though."_ He grinned sheepishly.

Yukiko looked mildly irked. "Let me know if there's anything I can do for you, alright?" she asked, quickly regaining her composure.

_"...Thanks, Yukiko. If it's any consolation, I do keep your charm at my bedside."_

She blushed and smiled slightly. Rise sighed in irritation.

I glanced between the two girls and wished, quietly, that this feud would end. Why was love so complicated...? Would I ever have that sort of thing in my life? I couldn't imagine being in love, or being loved, for that matter...

...N-Not that I would mind...

"Is Koro-chan there really that smart?" Teddie asked, laughing to himself. "Or did you guys just finally decide to share a room?"

_"...Say that again,"_ Yosuke growled threateningly. _"Say that again, and I swear, I'll kick you out of the house myself when I get home!"_

"Waah! Yosuke's mean!" Teddie wailed, and Chie tried to comfort him. Of course, Teddie wasn't actually crying, but, well, that's just what we did over here.

"Y'know, if you did feel that way, there wouldn't be anything wrong with it," Kanji said bluntly, staring at the sky and stretching slightly. "I mean, you two are kind of close. Can't say the thought's never crossed my mind."

_"...I'm dating a girl,"_ Seta insisted, his face extremely red. _"There isn't anything wrong with it, no, but I'm not gay..."_ He scratched the back of his head. _"Where would you even get the idea?"_

_"Well..."_ Yukari began. _"You two are kind of...closer than average, and you're both on a first name basis, and you keep taking bullets for each other, and you're living in the same house right now, and you're tending to each other when you're sick, and you were sharing a room yesterday, and you're putting each other's needs before your own, and to be honest, you would make a very cute coup-"_

_"Alright! Alright!"_ Seta shouted, his voice slightly hysterical. _"I get it! I get it! Now stop it! You're making me uncomfortable!"_ I had never seen him look so embarrassed. _"...I need to go wash my face."_

_"And I...um...need to go...buy some brain bleach,"_ Yosuke stammered. They both awkwardly took off for two separate rooms down the hall.

Yukari chuckled easily and sat down in front of the laptop. _"I'm sorry, I think I got in the way."_ But she didn't look sorry. _"It's nice to meet you guys. He hasn't said too much, but from what I've heard, he really cares about all of you. Try to stay safe for him, okay?"_

"We will," Rise said. "And you look after them both, okay?"

_"Me? I think I need to regroup with the rest of SEES, though..."_ She nodded to herself. _"I'll tell you what. I'll leave Koromaru to look after them. You can't find a better guard dog. How does that sound?"_ She glanced at the dog. _"Are you alright with that, boy?"_

_"Arf!"_ Koromaru nodded, wagging his tail.

_"He's very fond of them already. To be honest, he's been a bit lonely these days, so I think he'll just be happy to have company."_

I nodded. "They'll take good care of him for you."

_"...I think you mean the other way around,"_ Yukari said with a grin. _"I'm going to make a few phone calls. Want me to leave the camera on in case the two heterosexual life partners come back?"_

Behind me, Chie snorted with laughter and looked away to save face.

"...Um...Yukari-san..." Yukiko began. "..._I'm_ dating Seta..."

_"Oh, so he's not making excuses."_ Yukari laughed easily. _"He's a good kid. Look after him."_ She thought for a moment. _"Is Yosuke-kun single?"_

"...Yes. Why?" I asked.

_"Oh, no reason."_ She grinned. _"I'll boot Yosuke-kun out of the master bedroom for you guys. Just hold on."_

She headed down the hall, Koromaru scampering after her, and a moment later, we heard more footsteps. Yosuke sat down, looking like he'd just stepped out of a cold shower.

"Feeling better?" I asked.

_"A little."_ He managed an awkward smirk. _"Anything else you guys need to know? Need to say? All that?"_

We all exchanged glances and thought for a moment. "...Make sure you two actually have fun, while you can," Yukiko finally said. "Go out to eat, or simply walk. It doesn't matter. It's been a while since you guys last hung out. Hang out."

He nodded. _"Yeah..."_

"...T-Tell Seta-senpai..." I began. He waited. "...T-Tell him to say hello to Minato for me." I recognized the hand that fell onto my shoulder as Kanji's. It was strange, to hear that Minato was dead now...I had always wondered what had become of him...

_"I will. I'm sure he'll be proud of what you've become, Naoto-kun."_

...I think that was the nicest thing Yosuke had ever said to me. "Thank you."

Seta abruptly sat himself down beside Yosuke. He seemed to have regained his composure. Yosuke... hadn't quite yet. He glanced a bit shiftily at his friend, who noticed this and shrugged. _"What?"_

_"Um..."_

_"Let them think what they want."_ He waved his hand dismissively. _"They may call it whatever, but you're my best friend and that's all there is to it."_ He rested his head against the back of the couch and shut his eyes. _"...I feel a headache coming on."_

Immediately, Yosuke's discomfort went out the window. _"Oh, man. Hang in there, alright? Do you need anything? Ice? Medicine?"_

Seta opened an eye and grinned. _"I'm just kidding, dude."_

I swear I could see sparks going off in Yosuke's eyes. _"Oh, you asshole!"_

Seta managed a laugh, but that laugh made one thing extremely clear: Something was definitely wrong. His voice was hoarse and strangled, and a sort of film was passing over his eyes.

"Senpai...?" Kanji looked as worried as I felt.

Yosuke grated his teeth together, the concern back. _"...Don't joke about this, man. Are you feeling okay?"_

Seta shook his head once or twice more before slumping forward, hands gripping his chest, his whole body convulsing.

"Senpai!"

"Narukami-kun!"

The racket from us was deafening, and was definitely drawing looks, but at this point, we didn't care. I, personally, couldn't say a word. It had happened so suddenly that I could only watch the scene with wide eyes. It was surreal...something like this couldn't be happening to us...to _him_...

But it was.

Yosuke's hand immediately went up to Seta's neck and searched for a pulse. _"Shit...Not now...please...! Not again! Hang in there!"_

"Is Sensei alright?!" Teddie yelped.

_"Does he look alright?!"_ Yosuke shouted, his voice tense. _"Damnit!"_

Seta's breathing began to grow more and more shallow until it stopped entirely.

"...Yosuke-kun...?" Yukiko sounded on the verge of tears.

He said nothing, just kept his fingers where they were on Seta's neck, watching, waiting. His eyes were desperate, but somehow, he wasn't freaking out like us.

...It was as if he'd seen this before.

When he'd mentioned Seta collapsing over the phone...had he meant this?

This wasn't just a collapse. Seta wasn't even breathing. His words about replacing Minato as the seal echoed through my head, and my heart lurched. _'I have no choice.'_

"Is his heart beating...?" I finally choked out.

No answer. His hand didn't move, but he shook his head. A person could live for four to six minutes without a heartbeat. So we all simply sat there and waited.

None of us relaxed until Yosuke did. When Seta came around, it wasn't as if he took a sharp intake of breath, or like his eyes shot open. He took a breath through his nose that nobody saw but Yosuke, and when he found his pulse, his shoulders relaxed, he released a breath of his own, and let his hand drop.

_"...He's going to need to rest."_ He looked up at us. _"...Well? Are the stakes clear now? Maybe we sounded like lunatics with the Dark Hour, Nyx, and all of that apocalypse cult talk, but this is serious."_ He stood up and rested a hand on Seta's forehead, when a noise drew his attention and he looked upwards. _"...How long have you been standing there, Yukari-san?"_

_"Long enough. Does he have a fever?"_

_"Yeah. It's not bad yet, but who knows. Could you grab him some ice?"_

_"Sure."_ Her footsteps led away.

"...Senpai." Kanji's voice was strained. "...We may joke, but we're glad that you're there. We really are."

He shut his eyes. _"I'm just glad he's not alone. I'll talk to you all later."_

He ended the call, leaving us all in stunned silence.


	15. The Music

_Monday, August 6, 2012, 11:39 PM_

* * *

_Red eyes glared at me through the blackness, holding me rooted to the spot. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a disembodied hand floating in space, a gray mist seeping from the orb embedded in its palm. The area began to heat up around me and electricity crackled through the air. But neither monster took notice._

_Erebus slammed a hand down, sending a shockwave reverberating through the area. Yami pointed at me, and missiles appeared out of thin air, exploding at my feet. I was thrown backward from the combined attack, skidding several feet before grinding to a painful halt._

_As I struggled to sit up, I noticed that I couldn't move my arm. I glanced down at it; it was completely stained bright red with blood from my shoulder wound. My vision was growing hazy, though from the blood loss or the thickening mist it was impossible to tell._

_A chilling sound cut through the air, halfway between a scream and a howl. I scrambled to my feet, trying to ignore how the world spun about me. I shouted into the mist, calling for Seta or Minato. This was the void where he fought those monsters, right...?_

_But there was no response._

_The mist began to swirl, parting to reveal a familiar figure carrying a sword and draped in coffins...I took several steps back, then spun around and ran for it. Not him...not here...!_

_A massive door appeared out of nowhere, and I all but slammed facefirst into it. I pounded my fist against it, letting out a yell. It trembled, but didn't budge. I was trapped._

_The sound of a sword scraping along the floor made me turn around in fear. The mist parted to reveal Thanatos standing directly behind me. Even though he didn't really have a face, it looked like he was grinning maniacally. He knew I was trapped. He knew there was nowhere to run._

_My scream was cut short as his sword plunged through my chest, and the mist began to bleed red._

I bolted upright, gasping for breath, one hand clutching at my chest. I was lying on the couch in Seta's living room, Koromaru curled up next to me. I took a deep breath before I doubled over, my other hand gripping my head. "F***," I whispered, struggling to control my trembling. Ever since we'd explored the Dark Hour with Yukari and Koromaru, my dreams had gotten a hell of a lot worse. Thanatos had been haunting me ever since that incident, but now I was seeing Erebus and Yami too. Sometimes I even dreamed of what had happened last year in Inaba...Saki's death...my shadow...

A quiet whimper broke through my thoughts, and I looked up to see Koromaru staring at me, his ears flat with worry. I started to pet him, then after a moment I just grabbed the dog in a hug. "Sorry, boy," I said shakily. "Just another nightmare."

Koromaru let out another whimper and licked my cheek comfortingly. I'm not sure how long it took for me to calm down, but eventually I let go of him and glanced up at the clock. 11:54. Six minutes until the Dark Hour...Yukari had left the day before to regroup with her own team, so it was only the three of us in the apartment right now. I sat there for nearly thirty seconds, watching the second hand tick around the clock, before I swung my feet to the floor. "C'mon, let's go check on Seta."

Koromaru let out a yip and jumped to the floor, trotting off down the hall. I followed after him to Seta's room; he nudged the door open and slipped inside. Rather than just follow him in, I knocked on the doorframe first before pushing the door open.

Seta's eyes were half open and glazed over with fever. He was trembling, and he was covered in newly formed lacerations, the sheets of his bed stained with fresh blood. The smell of it filled the room and crashed over me very suddenly. He hardly seemed to notice it, or me, for that matter...

"Holy shit...!" I hissed, quickly going over to him and placing a hand on his forehead. His fever was even worse than it had been previously; he practically felt like he was on fire. "Koro-!" I started, but the dog had already darted out of the room again. I immediately went into the bathroom, yanking open the medicine cabinet and pulling out the first-aid kit that was stashed in there. When I returned to the bedroom, Koromaru was already back, trying to nudge an icepack onto Seta's forehead. I decided not to question how the hell he managed to get that out of the fridge and instead started to work on patching up Seta's new wounds.

His eyes shakily tried to focus on me. "I'm sorry..."

"For what?" I muttered. "There's no reason you should be apologizing."

"I shouldn't be this useless..." He squeezed his eyes shut. "It hurts..."

I sighed. "You're not useless. You've been lending Minato-san your strength to fight off those demon things, haven't you? I'd say that's far from 'useless'."

"It's not enough..." He stared dully at the ceiling. "...Are you okay? That nightmare was pretty vivid."

I forced a dry laugh. "Dude, you're asking if _I'm_ okay? I'm fine, a few nightmares are nothing. How're you feeling?"

"Like shit," he answered honestly. "I didn't think it was possible to feel this awful."

"Anything else I can get for you? Medicine, more icepacks...?"

"Medical painkiller?" It was probably a joke, but he sounded like he was in too much pain to convey that properly. "...Water," he finally answered.

"Okay," I said, getting to my feet. "I'll be back in a minute." I headed out the room into the kitchen, grabbing a fresh bottle of water from the now mostly empty fridge. I came back to the bedroom to find that Koromaru had hopped up onto the bed and was curled up next to Seta. He had his face pressed against the dog's back, and I wondered if he was crying or not.

I set the water on the bedside table-and immediately the lights went out. The moonlight filtering through the window shone a sickly green colour, and the bottle was suddenly filled with blood. I jerked my hand back, trying not to be too grossed out by that. "...You might want to wait for that water, man."

"I've had worse," he muttered under his breath, reaching for the bottle.

Immediately I snatched it from the table. "Oh, hell no, you are NOT drinking blood! What do you think you are, a vampire?!"

"I'm just a bit dehydrated..." he mumbled. "...And I seem to be losing blood rather fast, as well." He gave a slight smirk and rolled his eyes.

I sighed in exasperation. "Not funny, dude..." I grumbled, struggling not to smirk myself.

"Hey, if we're going to panic about it, we may as well laugh about it, too." He managed a tired grin and shut his eyes once more. The smile faded, and he tentatively pressed the back of his hand against the side of his face. "...It's way too hot in here..."

"I can check the fridge for some more icepacks or something," I offered.

"The ice Koromaru just gave me is straight out of the fridge. It's not like ice can get any colder..." He tilted his head away from me and coughed quietly, covering his mouth. I noticed blood between his fingers.

"Geez, man..." I sighed. "You're still worse than you're letting on, aren't you...?"

"It always gets worse during the Dark Hour..." He took a breath that sounded slightly strangled. "I wish...it would stop screaming like that..."

I just stared back at him, unable to come up with a response. I had done what I could, I didn't think there was anything more I could do to help him...

No, that wasn't true. There was one more thing I could do.

It took me several seconds to force my body to move towards the desk, and several more to grab the gun-no, the evoker-sitting on top of it. "Just...hang in there," I muttered, as much to myself as to Seta. I pressed the evoker to my forehead, trying to keep my hand from shaking. I didn't want to use it, but if Seta was suffering like this...

Before I could think about it too much, I squeezed my eyes shut and pulled the trigger. The same pain as before exploded through my mind and out the back of my head...maybe it was my imagination, but it didn't hurt as much as it had last time. I hoped that didn't mean I was becoming used to it. I never wanted to be used to shooting myself in the head.

I opened my eyes again to see Susano-O hovering next to me. I sent a Diarama spell at Seta, hoping it would help cure some of his internal wounds. For a moment, I swear I could see a second Persona standing on my other side...Jiraiya...? Just as quickly as he appeared, he was gone, and I watched as the wounds began to mend.

Something began to worm its way into my concentration, and I closed my eyes shut in frustration. What was it...? It took a few moments for the fact that I probably shouldn't be hearing anything during the Dark Hour to sink in. "...Do you hear that?" I muttered.

Seta glanced past me, towards the door. "...Sounds like music..." He tried to sit up.

"Lie back down. You're not going anywhere in your condition. Wait here; I'll go check it out."

"No," he hissed, his voice tinged with anxiety. "I can't-" Something seemed to go off behind his eyes, as his whole body went rigid and he brought his hand to his forehead, stifling a cry.

"Yeah, you can't move all right," I sighed, placing a hand on his shoulder and forcing him to lie down again. "Rest for a bit. I'm not going far, it just sounds like it's coming from the lobby."

"I just don't want you to get hurt..." His voice was slightly muffled. "We still haven't seen that thing Minato mentioned..." I could've sworn that he muttered, 'if it can be seen' under his breath.

"I'm not going to get hurt," I insisted. "Just trust me for once, okay?"

"...Can you go with him, Koromaru?"

Koromaru stared at him for a moment before wagging his tail slightly and getting to his paws, hopping off the bed and stopping by my side. He gave a slight nod before shutting his eyes. I crouched down and gave Koromaru a quick scratch behind the ear before heading to the door. "We'll be back soon," I said.

"...Yeah. Take care." He sounded awful...If there were any Shadows on the way down, Koromaru and I would have to take them out. There was no way he could fight them on his own...

"Hey." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. It had a few blood specks on it, though he absently got rid of them by wiping it against the bedside. "Don't want you to get locked out." He gave it a slight push, too weak to throw it, and Koromaru grabbed it before I could. He happily went over to me and held it to my hand.

"Thanks," I said, accepting the key from Koromaru. "Take it easy for a bit, got it?"

"Looks like I haven't got a choice." He sighed. "...I...just...you two..."

Koromaru let out a bark.

"...Yeah. Arf." He smirked. "...I'll leave it to you." And with that, he seemed to fall asleep, or maybe he fell unconscious. Whatever it was, he seemed almost peaceful...I hoped that was true.

"We'll be fine," I murmured quietly. If he could hear me, I wanted him to know that. "C'mon, Koro, let's go."

I grabbed my glasses and slipped them into my pocket as I headed for the apartment door, slowly easing it open after checking for any Shadows or other creatures waiting for us on the other side. I still had Susano-O out next to me; I didn't want to let him go yet in case I needed him...I wasn't sure I'd be able to use the evoker again.

I pushed open the emergency door to the stairs and started down, Koromaru's nails clicking on the concrete steps behind me. The sound was getting louder...it did sound like music. I wasn't what anyone would call an expert in musical instruments, but it sounded like...it probably wasn't a trumpet? I don't know. It was probably a stringed instrument, and whoever was playing it knew how to play it very well.

I hesitated right outside the door to the lobby, Koromaru pausing next to me and glancing up at me curiously. I had no idea what was waiting in there...It wasn't like either of us had fully explored this time yet, and there _was_ something after us...I shifted the evoker to my left hand and pulled out a kunai before taking a deep breath and peeking around the corner.

A tall man was sitting on a couch off to the side. He had short white hair, and he wore a red scarf that went over his mouth, and a red headband. His clothes were rather casual, all dyed a silver-blue colour. His head was down, his eyes shut as he played the large, harp-like instrument he held. It was like he was lost in the music. Well...I could understand that feeling, at least. Even if literally everything else about his presence confused me. What the hell was he doing here? How was he awake during the Dark Hour? And how could he be so calm, playing a goddamn harp when there were monsters lurking about?

"Arf!" Before I could stop him, Koromaru trotted out from behind the corner and bounded over to him, his tail wagging. He opened an eye and, even with his mouth half-hidden by his scarf, I saw the beginnings of a smirk. He shut his eye again and his melody slowed down slightly, to a more peaceful tune. Koromaru rocked on his paws, panting happily.

I exchanged a glance with Susano-O (which was kinda like exchanging a glance with myself...I need to stop that train of thought before I break my brain) and stepped out from behind the doorway. "Um..."

He opened his eye again, looking over his shoulder. He shrugged, not missing a single note, and proceeded to ignore me. I felt mildly annoyed by his reaction. "...Uh, who are you? And what are you doing here playing some kind of harp in the middle of the Dark Hour?"

"Lyre. What is it to you?" he asked quietly, not even bothering to look up this time. Koromaru promptly fell onto his side, snoring peacefully. The hell...?

"Well, I'd kinda like to know if you're on our side or not. Everything we've met in this time has tried to kill us so far."

"We? Us? You and the dog?" he asked absently. "Cerberus was always a tough bastard..."

"...Yeah. Me and Koromaru." No need to tell him Seta was still upstairs if he actually was planning to attack...

His song slowly finished, and he slung the harp over his shoulder so it rested on his back, and he stood up, crouching down in front of Koromaru. He pet him quietly, taking a moment to speak. "I'm not on a side, but I'm not about to hurt you, if that's what you are asking. My name is Orpheus."

"...That's good to know, I guess. I'm Yosuke."

"...Do you prefer to go by that?" he asked after a moment. "Or shall I call you Susano-O?"

"Huh?" I glanced at my Persona, who just sorta stared back at me. "...Well, that's not really my name, Susano-O's my Persona..."

"But it's your true self, is it not?"

"I...guess...?" Everything he was saying was really starting to confuse me now.

"Well then." He scooped Koromaru up off the floor and stood up. "You should be careful. The moon may not be full, but the Shadows and the demons are hungry, regardless. You smell of blood."

"Don't I know it," I grumbled under my breath. Then the rest of his statement sank in. "...Hang on, I smell of blood? I'm not bleeding...and how would you know?"

"I didn't say the blood was yours, only that you smell of it." He placed Koromaru into my arms without much warning. "Do you live here?"

I nearly dropped the dog, wondering why he suddenly felt heavy. "Um...for now, I guess? I'm just visiting, really."

"I see." He slowly but surely headed for the stairs. He glanced backwards at me. "Are you coming?"

"...Yeah," I said, shifting Koromaru so I could carry him easier before following Orpheus to the stairwell. I headed up the stairs, Susano-O still floating behind me. I was only just beginning to realize that keeping him summoned for so long without actually fighting was really draining my energy.

Somehow, despite the fact I hadn't said anything to him about _where_ I was staying, we ended up right back on the doorstep of Seta's apartment. He seemed pretty serious. "Inside..." he muttered.

"Huh?" I glanced at him, trying to focus past the haze of exhaustion that was starting to push on me.

"...There are Eagles inside. Not only that, but a blood brother...it smells like death."

"...WHAT?!"

I shoved Koromaru into his arms, yanking out the key and jamming it into the lock. It took all of maybe three seconds to open the door, but those three seconds felt way too long. I bolted into the apartment, frantically searching for the Shadows.

It seemed I had more than Shadows to worry about. In fact, they should've been the least of my concerns.

Thanatos was tearing the Eagle Shadows to pieces, his sword cutting through them with ease. There were a lot of them, but it wouldn't have mattered if there'd only been one or if there had been hundreds, the result would've been the same. Seta was standing in the hallway, only barely managing to stay upright. He was trembling, though it was impossible to say whether it was from fear or exhaustion...or even just plain agony. He looked over his shoulder and his eyes grew wide. "Get out of here...!"

"Like hell I will!" I snapped, practically lunging forward as I pulled out my second kunai. My shoulder still wasn't fully healed yet, but this time I would probably need both weapons.

He grabbed my arm, shaking his head, looking almost desperate. Thanatos turned around to look at both of us, and Seta pulled me backwards as hard as he could, trying to put himself in front of me.

"Don't you dare!" I shouted, refusing to let him past me. "This isn't like last time!"

Immediately I sent Susano-O out in front; he swung his blade in a circle straight at Thanatos. Thanatos intercepted the blow with his sword. Light energy began to swirl around the two of us, glowing from the floor, trying to trap us within invisible walls. I quickly began to back up, trying to shove Seta out of the way of the trap, but only succeeded in tripping and knocking us both to the floor. Susano-O countered with a blast of wind at Thanatos, attempting to break his concentration. Thanatos hardly seemed to notice, and the ground began to sparkle a dark, blackish purple.

If that attack went off, it could blow up the entire room. And if not the room, at least us.

"Hey."

The attack fizzled out as Thanatos looked up at Orpheus, who'd placed Koromaru out of the monster's line of sight. "What the f*** do you think you're doing?" He slowly pulled the harp off his back. "I'm afraid this stops now."

Thanatos simply stared at us, and I felt fear begin to creep through me. I gritted my teeth, trying desperately to block out the images that were flooding my mind...images of each and every single way we could die, right here and now...

When heat began to fill the air, I almost thought we _had_ died, somehow. But when I finally managed to open my eyes, see past the fear, Orpheus was standing before us, instrument in hand, light encasing Thanatos and trapping him where he stood. Beside me, Seta had fallen eerily still. I wondered, panicking, if he was in the middle of another collapse or if he was just overloading. He was breathing, but just barely. Orpheus seemed to take note of it, glancing backwards before strumming the instrument slowly. The light swirled faster until it formed a sphere and shrunk in midair to palm size. He took it carefully in his hand and walked over to Seta.

"I think this belongs to you..." I noticed that his voice suddenly began to edge with shock, but he suppressed it and brought the orb to his forehead. It burst into silver and swirled around him for a moment before forming into a card emblazoned with a skull in front of a gate. Seta grabbed it in his shaking hand, and it vanished. His energy gave way and he let his arm fall, collapsing to the ground.

Orpheus simply stared at us for a long moment. "...Well. Frankly, that was terrifying. Are you both going to be okay?"

"Define...okay..." I muttered between my gasping for breath. At some point I had lost my concentration and let Susano-O fade out; now that he was gone, the exhaustion was practically crashing over me. I tried to ignore it for now and force myself to my feet again, but I was barely able to sit up, let alone stand.

He slowly turned around and headed out the door. I thought that was it, but he came back in with Koromaru a few moments later. "Where does everybody go? ...Ah, screw it. Whatever." He headed for Seta's room. He came back without the dog a few minutes later and picked me up, much to my surprise. And annoyance/embarrassment, but to be honest, I was tired enough at that point to not really care anymore.

It appeared that he'd set the futon back up, and beyond that, he'd set up a large blanket and pillow fort for Koromaru, as well, who was out like a light and looking very comfortable. He placed me on the futon and came back a few moments later carrying Seta, who seemed too far gone to even realize he was being carried. He set him down on the bed and turned around. Again, I thought that would be it, but he returned once more with the rolling chair, taking a seat.

"...Who exactly are you?" I managed to ask through my exhaustion.

"I told you. My name is Orpheus." He shrugged and adjusted his harp. "They call me the Master of Strings. You can say it doesn't sound like much, but it might just be the last thing you say." He slowly passed his gaze over all of us. "Cerberus..." He watched Koromaru, then turned to face me. "Susano-O..." Then Seta. "...And Izanagi. Am I right?" He dropped his gaze. "I said earlier that I am not on a side. But if the world ends, there'll be no more music. So I'll lend you a hand. For now, though, you should sleep."

He began to play. It was a different song than the one he'd been playing down in the lobby. It was much quieter, much more peaceful. As it continued, I could feel the wound on my shoulder tingle slightly, and I began to feel more and more exhausted. His voice eventually began to blend into the strings, but the urge to sleep made them impossible for me to make out. For a moment I tried to fight it, then I simply gave up and let myself drift off.


	16. The Ship

_Tuesday, August 7, 2012, 3:14 PM_

* * *

"Have you found anything, Rise-chan?" Naoto asked after a while.

"Definitely," she finally murmured. She sounded exhausted. We'd been searching for days, so we were all caught off guard by her confirmation. Even the fox looked surprised, which is sort of a weird accomplishment. I hadn't said much, mostly because all of my thoughts consisted of pissed off ranting. What the hell, Senpai?! I hadn't stopped worrying since the day he collapsed! If things were that bad, why didn't he freakin' _say something?!_

"It's extremely far away, though...I've never had to say this before, but we'd be better off finding a closer entrance...or an item that will warp us there..." She glanced at Teddie. "Any ideas...? Otherwise, we'll just have to walk..."

A new TV entrance...? Wasn't that extremely dangerous...? There was going to be a long stretch of rain in just a few days...

"We should walk to this new place first," Teddie decided. "And I can create an exit, but I have no idea where it would lead."

"It's the only chance we've got, at the moment...Rise-chan worked hard to find this," Yukiko said. "Besides, this means there's somebody in the TV, right? We have to find out who." She turned to look at us. "Come on, let's go."

We all stood up, a little stiff after sitting for such a long time. "How long do you think it will take for us to get there?" Chie asked.

"...A few hours?" she admitted, cringing. "I'm sorry..."

"No, don't apologize. Good work, Rise-chan." Naoto smiled slightly at her. "There's no use complaining about it, though I am sure we will. Come on, let us proceed. We're wasting time."

As we started down the long road to this newfound location, Naoto finally glanced at me. "Kanji-kun. You haven't spoken much since the call from Yosuke-senpai and Seta-senpai. Is there something on your mind?"

So many things on my mind, I wasn't quite sure where to start. "...I guess I'm mad. If Senpai was in that much pain, in that much damn danger, he shouldn't have kept his mouth shut!" My hands were clenched into fists at my sides. "We could've done something!"

She let out a sigh. "I see your point," she murmured. "I agree that Senpai should have informed us about the situation much sooner..."

"...But?" I wondered if she had an argument for why he didn't...I just didn't get it...

"...I think I can understand why he didn't tell us immediately," she began slowly. "Yukiko-senpai told us that he mentioned the Thousand Curses when she spoke with him. I think he may have been remembering our fight with Izanami and was unwilling to put us in that situation again."

"That was our own damn fault. We chose to protect him. And we're okay now." I shook my head with frustration. "Besides, if there's a bunch of us, it means all the stress isn't being piled on only one of us. We can handle more as a group than alone..." Even when I spoke, though, I sighed to myself inwardly. Shoulda known the Thousand Curses thing had gotten to him...Senpai's not invincible, no matter how he appears.

Naoto nodded. "I agree." ...I felt less stupid when Naoto agreed with me... "Senpai isn't being rational about this. I'm glad that Yosuke-senpai is there at least; perhaps he can help bring him to his senses."

"Yeah, I guess...if he doesn't die first." I guess that was my greatest fear. I mean...we weren't all exactly 100% certain _why_ he'd died...Or maybe that was just me. "I guess I'm just worried that we're too late."

She nodded again, seeming a little lost in thought. "...For now, we should focus on the task Senpai has given us. We need to investigate this new area Rise-chan has discovered and see if it yields any new information for us."

"It'd better. Rise-chan worked her ass off, it'd suck to find nothing." Besides. I kind of wanted to punch Shadows. Hard. In the face.

"She's located an entirely new dungeon...I doubt we'll turn up with 'nothing' from it," Naoto replied with a slight laugh. Her expression quickly became serious again. "There must be someone new in here; we need to find them as quickly as possible."

I really doubted people were being thrown in again...at least, I wanted to think not. The chat for the first hour was pretty animated, by the second hour, was more sparse, and by the time we reached the two and a half hour mark, Teddie, Chie, Rise...okay, everyone but Naoto had pretty much dissolved into '_are we there yet?!_' Even me. _Especially_ me.

It all stopped when we reached the ocean. Well, an ocean, at any rate.

"The hell?" I asked. I'd had no idea there was water in the TV world. ...Granted, there was a sauna. And a lab. And a strip club. And a castle. But I guess we'd yet to see any water. We were standing at the edge of a curved beach that, like everything around us, was covered in fog. Where the hell were we supposed to go from here...?

"Hey, what's that?" Chie called, pointing out across the water. Some kind of large, dark shape was sitting a good distance from the shore, towering out of the water. The fog parted slightly, and I managed to make out that it was a ship. And a rather creepy looking one at that.

"Is that what you were detecting, Rise-chan?" I asked after a moment.

"I think so..." She seemed a little anxious. "It...looks a little scary, though..."

"How are we supposed to reach it...?" Naoto asked, scanning the shoreline. Presumably for a boat or something that we could use to cross the water.

"...Swim?" Yukiko suggested tentatively. "I mean, somebody's probably on it, right?"

"Probably, yeah," Chie agreed with a nod. "Well, guess we might as well try."

She started walking forward, straight into the water. She barely got two steps in before she let out a yelp and suddenly jumped back onto the sand.

"Is something wrong...?!" Yukiko stepped forward and grabbed Chie's arm, pulling her away. She was looking anxiously at the water, as if it might be lava or something.

"Yeah...no...I don't know..." Chie was staring at the water in confusion. "...Is this really water?"

"What do you mean?" Naoto asked, stepping towards the edge of the shore.

"Well...it's kinda solid."

"Really?" I brushed past all of them and stepped right into...onto it without a second thought. "...Whoa, you're right..." It was solid. I mean, it still looked like water, but I was definitely walking on it.

"Ooh, ooh, let me try!" Teddie said, practically bounding forward. The fox followed behind him, somehow managing to trip him up so Teddie faceplanted on top of the water, literally skidding across the surface of it. "...Wow, you guys are totally right! It's solid enough to walk on!"

"...That...doesn't make any sense," I heard Naoto mutter under her breath, but Rise, not seeming too concerned, grabbed her arm and pulled her forward, Chie and Yukiko walking side by side after the rest of us. Somehow, it seemed that I'd taken the lead, so I started towards the ship before us.

The walk to the ship ended up being a lot shorter than it looked (which was a relief, after the distance we'd already walked). Up close, I could clearly see that it had seen much better days; the sails were completely tattered, and one of the masts had fallen over. Giant holes had been punched in the side of the ship, and the deck was covered with debris. One hole was right at water level, giving us an easy entrance into the ship.

"I'd say 'do we have to', but our other option is to walk back," I sighed, rolling my eyes slightly. "Where are we placing that exit, Teddie? And do you have any idea where it will take us?"

"Nope!" he replied almost a little too cheerily. "I can start looking around here for a good exit, or would that have been better at the shore?"

"I-If the water stays solid, then I guess it doesn't matter where it goes, huh..." Rise sighed, seeming uncertain.

"I'm more worried about where they'll lead," Yukiko admitted anxiously. "Is it possible that we'll be led to a different country, or something...? I mean, we can always just go back in and end up here if that's the case, but..."

"Don't worry, I'll have a look around to make sure it's safe before I set anything up!" Teddie reassured her. "Wait here!" He turned around and walked off into the fog, presumably to go look for an exit of some sort.

We were all very quiet while he was gone. Probably worried. It wasn't that we didn't trust him, or anything...we were all just a bit tired and uncomfortable with standing on water, I guess. He came back a few minutes later, looking pleased with himself. "I found a beary good exit!" he exclaimed. "It's somewhere we know too; I put the exit on a small rock over that way."

"Really? Where is it?" Rise asked, seeming relieved.

"Right into Sensei's room!"

There was a long silence that Yukiko was the first to break, with a shriek of "_WHAT?!_" and I was quick to follow up with "Why the hell did you choose there?!"

"B-because there wasn't anywhere else really close by!" Teddie protested. "There were a couple exits that opened up in some places I've never seen before, that was the only place I recognized!"

"Isn't his TV freakin' tiny?" I asked, facepalming.

"Yes, but if I can fit through it, so can you," he replied matter-of-factly. I was bigger than him. I didn't point that out.

"Have you been in his room before?" Yukiko asked me, raising an eyebrow.

"Once, yeah." There was an awkward pause. "...Why? Have you?"

She began to blush insanely. "...A few times..."

...Well, this was uncomfortable.

"...Uhh, how about we just head back for today?" Chie suggested, tentatively breaking the silence. "I'm kinda tired from that walk...we can probably check this place out tomorrow or something."

Naoto nodded. "That would probably be for the best. It won't do us any good to go in while we're exhausted. We can rest for today, then come back tomorrow to start exploring."

"Sounds like a plan," I agreed. "My legs are friggin' killing me..." I shook my head. "It's really a question of whether I'll even fit through Seta-senpai's TV...or if any of us will..."

"Naoto-kun probably can..." Rise murmured.

"...Pardon me?" she asked, dully unamused. Which, naturally, made Yukiko laugh.

"Oh, you'll all fit just fine!" Teddie insisted, starting off back in the direction he'd returned from. He stopped a moment to wave at us. "C'mon, what're you waiting for?"

Chie glanced back at the rest of us, then gave a slight shrug and started following him through the fog. "This is gonna suck," I muttered under my breath, imagining that Yosuke would've beaten me to that one if he were here, before heading back for the shore.

As I glanced over my shoulder to make sure everyone was following, or, more likely, to make sure that we weren't being followed, I noticed something off in the distance...a silhouette of what appeared to be a dog of some sort...was it a Shadow...?

"Kanji-kun?" Naoto's voice barely reached my ears (which was kind of rare), and I took a step forward. The figure simply turned around and walked away, towards the ship. I would've followed, but that'd have to wait. I glanced at her, still standing behind me.

"Did you see that?" I asked.

"I did."

...I had almost expected the answer to be 'see what?' I smiled awkwardly. "If it's important, we'll find it tomorrow, huh?"

"Yes. For now, it's more important that we return to our world and rest. Let's go, we're falling behind."

When we caught up with the others at the exit, there was some awkward glance exchanges. "...So...who's going in first?" Rise asked slowly.

"I volunteer Kanji!" Teddie exclaimed, and before I even got a chance to protest he immediately started shoving me towards the TV sets. "Go, go, go!"

"Wh-?! H-Hey, stop it, you stupid bear...! W-Whoa!" Before I knew it, I was falling, and I felt my shoulders catch against something. In a rather freaky moment, I could swear I was trapped, until I felt a rather strong push and I fell to the floor face first. I managed to get my glasses off so they didn't break, but that was where my luck ended. A few moments later, I felt pressure land on my back. Then more. Then more. And by the time I realized what was going on (that everyone was being pushed through the TV and into the room before I could even get out of the way), I could pretty much only think, '_You've gotta be %&*#ing kidding me..._' and try to breathe properly.

"There," came Teddie's voice from somewhere to my left and above me. "I told you guys you would all fit."

"I can't feel my legs..." Naoto whimpered from directly on top of me.

"I'm queen of the world!" Rise declared.

"Get off me," Yukiko sighed.

"Is the fox okay?" I choked out.

"_That's_ your question?" Chie asked incredulously.

"Yip!" came the fox's affirmation.

There was a quiet creak from nearby. "...What's going on?" Nanako's familiar voice asked, completely baffled. I managed to crane my neck up enough to see her standing in the doorway; she was looking over her shoulder, at a loss. "...I didn't hear you guys come in...A-And I was watching TV downstairs the whole time..."

"Nana-chan!" Teddie exclaimed, bouncing down from the top of the pile. "Sorry for barging in here. We were exploring inside the TV, and it was quicker to make an exit here than go back to the usual one!"

"...Okay." She didn't seem to get it at all. "...Y-You're all free to stay for a little while..." She managed a feeble smile. "I can ask dad to pick up some dinner when he gets home."

"You don't have to go that far for us, Nanako-chan, but that's very sweet of you," Yukiko said quickly. "We'll be happy to keep you company, if you'd like."

"We can go to Junes?" I offered. Even if we were all tired, I was sure none of us would have any complaints with going back there.

Her eyes lit up. "C-Can we?"

"Sure thing, Nanako-chan!" Rise chirped.

We all tried to help each other up from the dog pile we'd created, and Naoto, after awkwardly getting off me (Teddie did that on purpose, didn't he...?), pulled her hat over her face to hide her expression and offered me her hand, helping me to my feet with a little bit of effort. "I apologize for that..." she muttered.

"If anyone should be apologizing, it's Teddie," I growled. "That does it. We're all buying Senpai a bigger TV for this room."

"...That's actually a good idea," she said, seeming almost surprised. "Though does it depend on the actual TV, or where it's connected to? I've never really given it much thought..."

"Well, if there was ever a time to find out...because I really don't want to do that again."

"...I don't think any of us do." She realized she was still holding my hand and let out a squeak, pulling away. "A-At any rate! Let's accompany Nanako-chan to Junes, shall we...?"

I glanced at everyone else, dusting themselves off and talking to Nanako like nothing had happened. I sighed. "Seems everyone's alright with TV exploring this summer..." I muttered. "It'll be different without senpai, though."

She nodded. "But what we're doing is more or less for him. For him, and to find the truth, as always. Let's keep that in mind."

"C'mon, guys, let's go!" Yukiko called over her shoulder.

Naoto and I exchanged a glance. I hesitantly cleared my throat. "...Hey. I was wonderin'..."

She blinked and tilted her head.

"...Never mind. Come on."

I could practically see the question mark over her head as I quickly hurried out the door. I rolled my eyes at myself and remembered all the pushes everyone kept giving me in her direction.

One of these days, guys. But not today.


End file.
